Reviewed by Lynsey Miller
Jings, Crivens, Help Ma Boab! Scotland’s iconic comic strip cheeky chap is with the gang on stage for this brand new musical. In celebration of over 80 years, the Sunday Post’s much-loved comic strip has been adapted by Scott Gilmour and Claire Mckenzie into an up to date stage musical production about Scotland’s favourite spiky-haired rascal and his pals.
When a young lad is feeling down and that he doesn’t belong an old librarian who isn’t quite what he appears helps lift his spirits by giving him an Oor Wullie comic to read. This is when Wullie is transported from his comic strip to the alternative universe of today with his old pals on an adventure to find his missing bucket. And of course, no Oor Wullie story would be the same without them being chased by good old PC Murdoch and coming up against Basher Mackenzie.
The storyline worked well in transforming the characters of the old gang into our modern world with some great one liners and funny relative references. The translation between their dialect and ours now was fab. The small cast were superb and really brought this fun story to life. Martin Quinn was excellent as the much loved Oor Wullie with his spiked hair, dungarees, sling and of course wee friend Jemmy the moose. Eklovey Kashypa, Bailey Newsome, Dan Buckley, Grant McIntryre and Leah Byrne were fantastic as the new friend and old gang – Wahid, Soapy Soutar, Fat Boab, Wee Eck and Primrose. Leanne Traynor was suitably mean as the street bully Basher and my personal favourite was Ann Louise Ross was ‘PC Murdoch’, who was hilarious.
There were songs throughout which were full of fun and catchy. The cast looked like they were really enjoying themselves. The stage was simple but set the scene brilliantly and was transformed between the current day and the comic strip very well. All the costumes were great, they were very authentic – you could easy identify the famous characters. I especially loved the detail of added colour in the second act.
The King’s Theatre is a traditional small theatre with a very welcoming atmosphere and friendly helpful staff. It is located in the city centre so is easily accessible by public transport but is also surrounded by on street parking. It has a couple of small bars perfect for a pre-theatre or interval drinks. And has a huge variety of restaurants and bars in the immediate vicinity for food and drink pre and post show.
Being a fellow Dondonian I was really looking forward to watching Scotland’s favourite cheeky chappy and his gang get up to mischief on stage and it did not disappoint. I had a great night at the King’s Theatre and would absolutely recommend the show to family and friends – especially those Oor Wullie fans! It has something for everyone of all ages. I would give the production 5 out of 5 stars.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £18.50 (booking fees may apply).
Oor Wullie The Musical is at the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh from 28 January to 1 February 2020, for more information or to book tickets visit www.capitaltheatres.com or call the box office on 0131 529 6000.
King’s Theatre, 2 Leven Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9LQ | 0131 529 6000
