Benny Young

Moonlight and Magnolias

Ron Hutchinson's comedy explores the story behind the making of a Hollywood epic

2 Apr 2012

The strange alchemy that sorts screen hits from cinematic turkeys is energetically explored in Ron Hutchinson’s play about the events leading up to the shooting of Hollywood blockbuster, Gone with the Wind. The story behind the filming of Margaret…

A Christmas Carol

Dickens' festive spook story is given a compelling and creepy outing by Graham McLaren

7 Dec 2011

Scrooge and Marley’s gloomy office. Dangerous cables loop across the ceiling, piles of dusty papers fill the walls. As we enter in twos and threes to a whooping, fussing welcome, Scrooge himself – a grizzled figure in shrunken tailcoat and slippers…

Charles Dyer’s 1966 play Staircase

Mutual and self-loathing between two ageing gay lovers

7 Mar 2011

There are a number of very good reasons for resurrecting Charles Dyer’s 1966 play, foremost of which is his control of language. Under Dyer’s pen, the plain tics and disappointments of everyday speech become poetic and lovely. To an extent this is very…

From the West Bank

14 May 2010

These three short plays (two world premieres by David Greig and a revival of a work by Franca Rame) are sparse, clean and simply presented. The pared-back staging, language and performances from Cora Bissett, Ewan Donald and Benny Young (all three of…

Betrayed

14 May 2010

There’s little that’s cut and dried about the Iraq war, and current attempts to explain and attribute blame for its follies – Paul Greengrass’ movie Green Zone for example – often choose to overlook the stickier parts of the mess. George Packer’s…

The Drawer Boy

22 May 2008

SCOTTISH PREMIERE Tron, Glasgow, until Sat 24 May All of us live by personal myths; stories we tell ourselves about our own past actions that justify the present. It seems easy enough to uncover these in others, but much harder to identify our own…

Hughie

The Arches, Glasgow, until Sat 17 Mar

13 Mar 2007

NEGLECTED CLASSIC An ageing New York gambler lords it over a luckless hotel night clerk, spinning unlikely tails of his continuing prowess in gambling and womanising. Both the gambler and the hotel have seen better days. Such is the scene in this…

Hughie

Arches, Glasgow, Fri 2-Sat 17 Mar

27 Feb 2007

SCOTTISH PREMIERE With his triple bill of Tennessee Williams shorts and Pinter’s Moonlight to his credit over the last couple of years, Andy Arnold has more than demonstrated his credentials with marginal texts by acclaimed authors. The latest such…