Our mini season… from the archives!
There may be no Pies and no Pints, but we’re excited to announce there will be Plays!
Òran Mór‘s A Play, A Pie and A Pint will stream a mini season of plays from our archives over the next few weeks.
Actors, writers, composers, directors and film makers have kindly given their permission for us to show their work for PPP online. All that we ask in return is that you make a donation to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, we’ve set up a JustGiving page here https://bit.ly/JustGiving-PPP-NHS
We kick off next week on Wednesday 6th May with Sunset Boulevard: The Lunchtime Cut
Watch this space for more titles.
We look forward to a time when we can all get together again to laugh, cry, create and debate.. in the meantime we hope you’ll enjoy the plays. So dim the lights, heat a pie, pour a glass… and remember to switch your phone off!
The following plays will be streamed on our YouTube channel, and will be available to view for 5 days (from 1pm Wed – 2pm Sun).
We’ll premiere each play at 1pm on Wednesdays but you can of course watch at any time of day, over the 5 days, at your leisure! (Each play will then expire at 2pm the following Sunday).
SUNSET BOULEVARD: THE LUNCHTIME CUT
by Morag Fullarton
Wed 6th – Sun 10th May
Featuring Juliet Cadzow, John Kielty, Mark McDonnell and Frances Thorburn
Directed by Morag Fullarton
A bitter comedy and a dark tragedy, the story centres on a wealthy, egotistical, faded star, Norma Desmond, desperate to ‘return to the millions of fans she deserted’, and young, down-on-his luck writer, Joe Gillis, who sees a opportunity to exploit the situation.
‘Juliet Cadzow is by turns toweringly grand or boa constrictor possessive before she sashays into tragedy’ ★★★★★
The Herald
‘A class act all round. Suddenly, other plays got small’. ★★★★★
Arts Blog
Sunset Boulevard: The Lunchtime Cut is both a savage indictment of the star system (and the monsters it creates) and a depiction of a writer’s impotence in Hollywood. Based on Billy Wilder’s classic film noir, Morag Fullarton’s adaption retains the dark comic heart of the original while turning it into a theatrical treat.
WEE FREE! THE MUSICAL
by Brooks & King
Wed 13th -Sun 17th May
Cast: Neshla Caplan, George Drennan, Chris Forbes and Pauline Knowles
Directed by Ken Alexander
1984. Morna escapes the city to teach music on the remote Isle of Munst. When she accidentally marries a pillar of the community, she finds herself at odds with the quirks of The Kirk and the strange ways of the locals. Can a New Romantic survive on an island ruled by The Old Testament?
Cleverly written… great songs… outstanding cast… crisp direction. ★★★★
The Herald
Delightful performances… fine songs of love and disappointment… has the audience rolling in the aisles. ★★★★
The Scotsman
PPP would like to thank the family of Pauline Knowles who have kindly given their blessing to streaming Wee Free. It is a chance for friends and colleagues to once more appreciate Pauline’s superb talent. She was a joy to work with!
SPUDS
by Andy McGregor
Wed 20th – Sun 24th May
Cast: Darren Brownlie, Richard Conlon & Dawn Sievewright
Directed by Andy McGregor
When David MacGonigle’s wife dies, his perfect middle-class life collapses around him. But a freak occurrence, involving mouldy chips and Iron Brew, leads to his discovery of a new designer drug, Spuds. Soon he has built the ultimate criminal empire, but at what cost? A new musical comedy about grief, greed and grease.
Andy McGregor is a director, composer and playwright. He trained at Glasgow University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Shows he has written, composed and directed include Crocodile Rock, The Rise and Inevitable Fall of Lucas Petit, Pure Freezin’, Love 2.0 and Vinyl Idol (with Debbie Hannan). He has also made various Christmas shows for wee ones at The Citizens Theatre. He has directed The Dolls Dragged Up (Scottish Tour), Disturbed (Play, Pie and a Pint), Godspell and Twelfth Night (RCS). He has composed for The Royal Court, The National Theatre of Scotland and the National Youth Theatre. He recently composed and sound-designed The Ugly One (Tron). His new play for young people, Influence, was performed last year in 6 theatres UK-wide, from Dundee Rep to Plymouth Royal.
Andy McGregor’s latest play 1 + 1 MAKES 3 was due to premiere at A Play, a Pie and a Pint this May – we hope to bring it to you soon!
BUTTERFLY KISS (Part 1)
by Dave Anderson
Wed 17th – Sun 21st June
Cast: Dave Anderson, Christina Strachan, Davey Anderson, Rebekah Lumsden, James Lowrie and Fraser Speirs
Directed by Stasi Schaeffer
An Old Guy visits a “Seaside Museum” on his bus pass, where he finds a Punch & Judy stall. When no-one is looking, he peeks in, and finds himself in the year 1960. He’s 15 years old, and holidaying on the coast of the West of Scotland.
It’s a world of rock’n’roll, “teenagers”, burgeoning consumerism, rampant hormones, lazy daytimes gazing into rock pools, love of all things American, and A Girl.
Not The Girl he’s left behind and whom he’s afraid of losing to an Older Man (17 years-old). No. An altogether more exotic creature. The one who introduces him to the Butterfly Kiss.
Dwight Eisenhower is President of the United States. Elvis releases “It’s Now or Never”
A message in a bottle is washed up on the beach. People have jobs, making things. There’s only one TV channel, to which only some people have access.
BUTTERFLY KISS (Part 2 including The Day I Found The Blues)
by Dave Anderson
Wed 24th – Sun 28th June
Cast: Dave Anderson, Christina Strachan, Davey Anderson, Rebekah Lumsden, James Lowrie and Fraser Speirs
Directed by Stasi Schaeffer
“The day I found the Blues
The sun was in the sky
The Lord was in His Heaven
No tear was in my eye
No holes was in the soles of my shoes
The day I found the Blues…”
It wasn’t the Cold War: at fifteen, he’d grown up with that, and it was just a fact of life…
It wasn’t the girl back home who’d chucked him: he’d found a holiday romance here on the West Coast in a sunny August, 1960…
It wasn’t the dismal “turns” at the local Miner’s Welfare: he was too young yet to be subjected to that…
It was a record – and then another record, and then another – it was the music…
Melania
by Brooks & King
Wed 1st – Sun 5th July
Cast: Kirsty Malone, Margaret Preece, Frances Thorburn
Directed by Ken Alexander
It’s a long way from the Eastern Bloc to the East Wing – and for one former glamour model turned FLOTUS it hasn’t been a happy journey. Can the ghosts of Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Kennedy lift our heroine’s spirits and show her what it really means to be First Lady? A brand new musical comedy from the creators of Wee Free! The Musical.
The Beaches of St Valery
by Stuart Hepburn
Wed 22nd – Sun 26th July
Cast: Ron Donachie, James Rottger and Ashley Smith
Directed by Stuart Hepburn
In June 1940, Churchill hailed the “miracle of Dunkirk,” when all 350,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force were evacuated to safety.
But for the men of 51st Highland Division, there was no miracle. Sacrificed in a secret political deal, Churchill ordered them to stay and fight to the last bullet.
Against overwhelming odds, 9,000 Scotsmen surrendered at St-Valery-en-Caux, and were marched to POW camps in Poland.
All of them were betrayed.
Some of them escaped.
One of them fell in love.
The Beaches Of St Valery is his story.
An outstanding production that’s acted out with integrity, humour and a lovely awareness of what these characters represent even now.
The Herald
