Sunday 20 September 2009

A Brief History of Scotland: We Done Loads! (Leicester Square Theatre)

My pals done a play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival three years ago, they did it again a year ago (tightened it up made it extra good and spicy) It was so good that they got a chance to take their good selves to London for five days only to star in a WEST END SHOW!
A Brief History of Scotland is an excellent little sketch show that I have had the pleasure of seeing, I don't know, about five times. The sketches cover all the essentials; religion, art, technology, literature, etc. My favourite Sketch is still the Trainspotting parody 'Choose Fife' (Well done Paul, you were brill) but I also love the poetry bit where a flustered rhyming McGonagall (the worst poet in Scotland- and possibly the world) introduces sensitive flower Rabbie Burns who turns out to be a disgusting foul-mouthed drunk.
This show worked really really well in Edinburgh, and most sketches translated well to a London stage, a few fell down -not because of the excellent, talented and beautiful cast but because of an international London audience's ignorance when it comes to Scottish history. You really have to have a basic knowledge of what's being parodied to get the most out of this, which of course visitors to Scotland do, but sadly visitors to Leicester Square did not.

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