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Fergus Morgan

@fergusmorgan.bsky.social
1.5K followers 507 following 449 posts

Theatre journalist and critic. Scotland correspondent for The Stage. Words in FT, Standard, Scotsman and elsewhere. The Crush Bar on Substack: thecrushbar.substack.com

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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Lots to look forward to in @playpiepint.bsky.social's Autumn season of 12 shows, including a hip-hop musical about William Wallace, a new drama from @jmacr.bsky.social, the playwriting debut of Hannah Jarrett-Scott, and more... playpiepint.com/plays/
playpiepint.com
Plays – A Play Pie And A Pint
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Jamie Muscato - an Olivier nominee for his brilliant performance in Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 - will star as Dexter, with Sharon Rose as Emma, in the Edinburgh Lyceum's musical adaptation of One Day next year... www.thestage.co.uk/news/jamie-m...
thestage.co.uk
Jamie Muscato and Sharon Rose to lead One Day musical
Jamie Muscato and Sharon Rose will star in the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh’s musical adaptation of David Nicholls’ bestselling novel One Day
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
And here is my chat with Janet Etuk, on doing Streetcar with Paul Mescal, on her wish for an out-of-work actors scheme, and her return to Rough Magic at The Globe... www.thestage.co.uk/features/jan...
thestage.co.uk
Janet Etuk interview ahead of Rough Magic at the Globe Theatre
As Rough Magic prepares to open at the Globe's Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, actor Janet Etuk tells The Stage about the highs and lows of her varied theatrical career
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
"It should always be purely based on talent and on whether someone is right for the job, not based on how they look." Here is my chat with Lucy St Louis, currently starring in Top Hat at @chichesterft.bsky.social. www.thestage.co.uk/features/luc...
thestage.co.uk
Lucy St. Louis interview for Top Hat at Chichester Festival Theatre
From a dream role in Phantom to a lead in Wicked, Lucy St. Louis' star continues to rise. Ahead of starring in Top Hat, she talks about her career goals and highlights
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Sharing a few more bits that have been published recently... here is my review of The Great Gatsby at Pitlochry... www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-...
thestage.co.uk
The Great Gatsby review at Pitlochry Festival Theatre: significant innovations
Read our review of The Great Gatsby at Pitlochry Festival Theatre: an underwhelming adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Thoroughly excited to start longlisting entries for @thestage.co.uk and @thebookseller.com's new British Audio Awards, AKA The Speakies this week. Here's a little bit I wrote about why they matter... www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/the-...
thestage.co.uk
The Speakies will give audio drama a well-deserved boost
Audio drama gets little critical coverage. To recognise this talent, The Stage and The Bookseller are launching the British Audio Awards, aka The Speakies
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
The Edinburgh Fringe is back - and so is The Crush Bar. Here is the first issue, featuring experienced festival-goers sharing their best tips on surviving and thriving at the Fringe. Lots more to come over the next few weeks... thecrushbar.substack.com/p/how-to-sur...
thecrushbar.substack.com
How to survive the Edinburgh Fringe
The Crush Bar is back and so is the world's largest arts festival. Here, experienced Fringe-goers share their best tips on navigating the festival as both performers and punters.
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Here are Dave Pollock's thoughts on This Is A Gift at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, too... www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/this...
thestage.co.uk
This Is a Gift at Pitlochry Festival Theatre: magic-realist unease
Read our review of This Is a Gift at Pitlochry Festival Theatre: myth of King Midas is transposed to 21st century Leith in this poetic monologue
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Thoroughly enjoyed Jennifer Dick's three-man version of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus at Bard In The Botanics on Friday night. A fleet and febrile adaptation. Review for @thestage.co.uk here: www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/doct...
thestage.co.uk
Doctor Faustus review at Glasgow Botanic Gardens
Read our review of Doctor Faustus at Glasgow Botanic Gardens: A propulsive three-man adaptation of Marlowe’s play starring Adam Donaldson
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
And on Peter Arnott's The Inquisitor, back at A Play, A Pie and A Pint this week after its original run eighteen years ago... www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-...
thestage.co.uk
The Inquisitor review at Òran Mór, Glasgow: intelligent but underpowered
Read our review of The Inquisitor at Òran Mór, Glasgow. A Play, a Pie and a Pint's well-acted revival of Peter Arnott's cerebral two-hander
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Here are my thoughts on Douglas Maxwell's Man's Best Friend, currently at the Tron Theatre, then touring later this year... www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/mans...
thestage.co.uk
Man’s Best Friend at the Tron Theatre: stirring stuff
Read our review of Man’s Best Friend at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow: a deeply moving but disjointed one-man play about grief and dogs
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Finally, a reminder that The Crush Bar, my Substack all about theatre, will return in mid-July with all things Edinburgh Fringe... and it will be sent into over 4500 inboxes! thecrushbar.substack.com/p/there-is-a...
thecrushbar.substack.com
There is a lot to look forward to
This will be the last issue of The Crush Bar for a bit. Here are ten exciting shows worth seeing before it returns.
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
And here is my interview with Miranda Raison, too, who is returning to theatre after almost ten years to star alongside Ralph Fiennes in David Hare's Grace Pervades in Bath. www.thestage.co.uk/features/mir...
thestage.co.uk
Interview with Miranda Raison ahead of Grace Pervades at Theatre Royal Bath
Miranda Raison tells Fergus Morgan about her new play with Ralph Fiennes, working on French-language films and surprising audiences as a statue come to life
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Here is my @thestage.co.uk chat with Kadiff Kirwan, too - about his remarkable early life, cooking chicken on stage in The Hot Wing King, and his latest role in Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel at the Donmar Warehouse www.thestage.co.uk/features/kad...
thestage.co.uk
Kadiff Kirwan: interview with stage and screen actor
Kadiff Kirwan, whose credits include Chewing Gum and Slow Horses on screen and The Hot Wing King at the NT, talks about going to drama school without his dad’s knowledge and his role in Intimate Appar...
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Also, just wanted to share a few interviews that were published while I was away... Firstly, my @thestage.co.uk chat with Zachary Hart, who was so great in The Seagull with Cate Blanchett, and is now starring in Stereophonic in the West End... www.thestage.co.uk/features/zac...
thestage.co.uk
Zachary Hart interview ahead of Stereophonic
Factory worker-turned-actor Zachary Hart tells Fergus Morgan about Stereophonic, his admiration for The Glass Menagerie and championing the Black Country accent
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Last Scottish stuff for now... - Catherine Wheels have unveiled a new iteration of its Make Space fund for artists/companies to make work for young people - Blythe Duff features in a fourteen-strong cast for the Citz' reopening show Small Acts of Love
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Also, here is my brief chat with new Fringe boss Tony Lankester, around the launch of the full festival programme earlier this month. More from him in The Stage soon. www.thestage.co.uk/news/edfring...
thestage.co.uk
EdFringe boss: Exorbitant accommodation is the festival's biggest threat
The rising cost of accommodation is the ‘single biggest threat’ facing the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, according to the Fringe Society’s new chief executive Tony Lankester
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Also, some local residents are campaigning to get the council to do something about the noise and disruption caused by Pleasance Courtyard during the festival. Details here: www.thestage.co.uk/news/residen...
thestage.co.uk
Residents complain of noise 'torture' living near popular EdFringe venue
Residents near Pleasance Courtyard have complained that they are subjected to "torture" during the annual event and that their concerns are being "ignored"
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
There's too much Fringe stuff to mention but here are a few things... Firstly, Welcome To The Fringe, Palestine - a mini-festival celebrating Palestinian arts - is back after a 10-year hiatus. It will be at Portobello Town Hall from August 12-15. www.thestage.co.uk/news/palesti...
thestage.co.uk
Palestinian mini-festival revived at EdFringe after 10-year hiatus
A mini-festival celebrating the world of Palestinian theatre, dance and music is to be platformed once again at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe following a 10-year break
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
James Brining's first Lyceum season includes... - The Seagull starring Caroline Quentin - The Glass Menagerie from Dundee Rep - One Day musical - Cinderella - Lynn Nottage's Sweat, co-produced with the Citz - four new 30-minute plays staged elsewhere www.thestage.co.uk/news/edinbur...
thestage.co.uk
Edinburgh Lyceum to take plays into people's homes in 60th anniversary season
Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum Theatre will take plays into people's homes as part of its 60th anniversary programme, which will also feature Caroline Quentin in The Seagull
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
More details emerged over the collapse of The Scottish Institute. All here in @thestage.co.uk. www.thestage.co.uk/news/scottis...
thestage.co.uk
Scottish Institute closure leaves more than £2m in debts, report reveals
The shock collapse of the Scottish Institute appears to have left debts totalling more than £2 million, an interim liquidator’s report reveals
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Some leadership changes... - Mike Griffiths is leaving the Lyceum - Kenny McGlashan is new chief exec of FST - Susan Douglas-Scott is new chair of Birds Of Paradise - Brian Cox is a new patron of Dundee Rep - Patricia Stead is interim chief exec of Cumbernauld www.thestage.co.uk/news/appoint...
thestage.co.uk
Royal Lyceum Edinburgh boss to step down after six years
Mike Griffiths is to step down from his role as executive director and co-chief executive of Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum Theatre this October
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Exciting news that four-time winners Vanishing Point will return in 2026 with Flora, a collaboration with Danish company Katapult - and that Confessions Of A Shinagawa Monkey will be back in 2026/27.
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Also, congratulations to all nominees at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland, and particularly to the winners. Here are all the details in @thestage.co.uk. www.thestage.co.uk/news/critics...
thestage.co.uk
Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland: winners in full
Glasgow-based company Vanishing Point’s production Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey won four categories at the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
You can catch up with Dave's reviews of Andy McGregor's Meme Girls (4*), Ramesh Meyyappan's Lear (4*), and Rikki Henry's revival of The Mountaintop (3*) at the Lyceum on The Stage's website, too. www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-...
thestage.co.uk
The Mountaintop at the Royal Lyceum Theatre: striking performances
Read our review of The Mountaintop at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh: stylised revival of Katori Hall’s drama lacks intimacy
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
First, here is Dave Pollock's four-star @thestage.co.uk review of Sam Hardie's revival of Grease at @pitlochryft.bsky.social. www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/grea...
thestage.co.uk
Grease review at Pitlochry Festival Theatre: Crowd-pleaser
Read our review of Grease at Pitlochry Festival Theatre: Joyously nostalgic musical on a cinematic scale
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Back at my laptop now after an eventful and delightful few weeks, and, in lieu of any other forum to share stuff, I'm going to post a load of news/reviews/more that was published while I was away on here...
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
The second episode of A Sense Of Direction, my new quarterly podcast for Stage Directors UK, is out today. It is a frank chat with Matthew Dunster about the ins and outs of directing in commercial theatre. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. open.spotify.com/episode/3jyj...
open.spotify.com
Matthew Dunster on working in commercial theatre
A Sense Of Direction · Episode
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
An Tobar and Mull Theatre will produce a stage adaptation of Sarah Moss' novel Night Waking later this year, written by Shirleen Mula, performed by Nicola Jo Cully, and directed Rebecca Atkinson-Lord. Tours all over from 28 September until 31 October.
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Lots of good stuff in the Made In Scotland showcase, too, including F-Bomb Theatre's Float, Vee Smith and Sadiq Ali's The Unlikely Friendship, Ruxy Cantir's Pickled Republic, and a new show from Karine Polwart and Raw Material. www.madeinscotlandshowcase.com/current-shows/
madeinscotlandshowcase.com
Current Shows | Made in Scotland Showcase
Discover our line-up for this the 2025 Made In Scotland Showcase.
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
So many exciting things in Francesca Moody's Shedinburgh fringe programme, including previous festival hits like Haley McGee's Age Is A Feeling and Kieran Hurley's Heads Up; and new work from Nick Cassenbaum, Christ Thorpe, Gary McNair and more... www.thestage.co.uk/news/tim-cro...
thestage.co.uk
Tim Crouch among artists bound for Francesca Moody's Edinburgh venue
Shedinburgh will host shows from Haley McGee, Tim Crouch, Kieran Hurley and more, alongside four 'SHEDx Talks' from industry leaders including Moody herself
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson to star in a musical adaptation of their 1990s sitcom The High Life, touring with @ntsonline.bsky.social next Spring, opening in Dundee on March 28. More here: www.thestage.co.uk/news/alan-cu...
thestage.co.uk
Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson to star in The High Life musical
Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson will perform in a touring musical adaptation of their 1990s sitcom The High Life next spring
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Here is the Traverse's Fringe programme, featuring the return of John Tiffany, a Women's Prize for Playwriting Winner, Khalid Abdalla, a Gary McNair hit, and more. I'm most excited about seeing Dan Colley's Lost Lear again... a phenomenal show. www.thestage.co.uk/news/john-ti...
thestage.co.uk
John Tiffany to direct a 'history' of panto dames in Traverse Theatre season
A production directed by John Tiffany, a solo show from Khalid Abdalla, and a play that won the Women’s Prize for Playwriting will all run at the Traverse Theatre during the Edinburgh Fringe
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
"We are at the beginning of a very complex time in theatre... the Royal Court, because of its status and the way it makes work, was ahead of the time..." Great to chat to Vicky Featherstone about NTS, the RC, and her new freelance life in @thestage.co.uk. www.thestage.co.uk/features/vic...
thestage.co.uk
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Also announced earlier this week, @rawmaterialarts.bsky.social's upcoming slate of exciting work, including... - Windblown, a new show from Karine Polwart at the Fringe - the return of So Young this Autumn - an expanded version of Scots next year - Rona Munro's James VI: First and Last next year
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
A whole bunch of interesting shows in @dancebase.bsky.social's Fringe programme, including @barrowlandballet.bsky.social's Wee Man and Tess Letham's What ever happened to Harmony Banks? www.dancebase.co.uk/dance-base-f...
dancebase.co.uk
Dance Base Festival 2025 in partnership with Assembly Festival - Dance Base
Discover the full programme of dance taking place this August at Dance Base Festival 2025 in partnership with Assembly Festival
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Aberdeen Arts Centre has launched a £660k fundraiser - seeking to raise £180k by July, in order to restore its reserves and make a strong case to secure funding from the council's contingencies budget, after it lost out in March. More here: www.thestage.co.uk/news/brian-c...
thestage.co.uk
Brian Cox backs 'urgent' £660k fundraising appeal for Aberdeen Arts Centre
Actors Brian Cox, Laura Main and Amy Lennox have backed an appeal to help Aberdeen Arts Centre raise £180,000 by July 1 and a total of £660,000 over three years
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
The independent review of Creative Scotland is underway, and it wants to here from artists and communities in eight "roundtable discussions" held across Scotland between June 10 and July 2. More here: www.thestage.co.uk/news/creativ...
thestage.co.uk
Creative Scotland seeks artists’ opinions to inform review
Artists and communities across Scotland have been invited to take part in eight ‘roundtable discussions’ to inform the first independent review of Creative Scotland
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Police Scotland have confirmed that a fraud investigation into the collapse of the Scottish Institute is in "early stages." More here: www.thestage.co.uk/news/fraud-i...
thestage.co.uk
Fraud investigation launched into collapsed Scottish Institute
A fraud investigation has been launched into the collapse of the Scottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film and Television
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
And here is today's issue of The Crush Bar, which will be the last one for a few weeks... thecrushbar.substack.com/p/there-is-a...
thecrushbar.substack.com
There is a lot to look forward to
This will be the last issue of The Crush Bar for a bit. Here are ten exciting shows worth seeing before it returns.
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
"I was actually scared to go on stage before the first show because I thought people might boo me." Great to chat to Renee Lamb for @thestage.co.uk about Six, lockdown, wigs falling off, and her latest role in Nancy Netherwood's Radiant Boy @swkplay.bsky.social. www.thestage.co.uk/features/ren...
thestage.co.uk
Renée Lamb: I thought people might boo me at the first Six performance
Renée Lamb's next role in Radiant Boy: A Haunting is quite different from her debut in musical Six. ‘I’m on a windy little path’ she tells Fergus Morgan
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Here are Dave Pollock's thoughts on this week's A Play, A Pie and a Pint show, too... www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/good...
thestage.co.uk
Goodbye Dreamland Bowlarama review at Òran Mór: garishly madcap
Read our review of Goodbye Dreamland Bowlarama at Òran Mór, Glasgow: quirky coming-of-age drama
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
I adored this @pitlochryft.bsky.social on Tuesday evening. A beautifully staged production of a desperately moving debut play about two young Glaswegians. Runs in Pitlochry till Saturday, then heads to the Byre Theatre. Really deserves to go elsewhere after! www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/wate...
thestage.co.uk
Water Colour review at Pitlochry Festival Theatre: raw and real
Read our review of Water Colour at Pitlochry Festival Theatre: dynamic staging of a devastating debut play
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
One Day will be adapted into a musical by the Edinburgh Lyceum and Simon Friend's Melting Pot. Runs Feb-Apr next year. Written by David Greig, directed by Max Webster, music by Abner and Amanda Ramirez, additional lyrics by Freya Catrin Smith. More here: www.thestage.co.uk/news/one-day...
thestage.co.uk
One Day to become stage musical at Edinburgh Lyceum
A musical adaptation of David Nicholls’ bestselling novel One Day will be staged at Edinburgh’s Lyceum Theatre next year
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
The Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) nominations are out! You can find them all below. Ceremony is @traversetheatre.bsky.social on June 8! www.thestage.co.uk/news/critics...
thestage.co.uk
Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland: nominations in full
The nominations for the 2025 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland have been revealed, with Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey receiving seven nods and Slow Horses star Jack Lowden shortlisted for ou...
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
So interesting to see Miller's Broken Glass in Nadia Fall's first season at the Young Vic. I've only seen it once before but it is such a fascinating, cryptic play about strange reactions to strange times. www.thestage.co.uk/news/nadia-f...
thestage.co.uk
Nadia Fall unveils inaugural Young Vic season featuring David Threlfall
Nadia Fall has revealed details of her inaugural season as artistic director of the Young Vic, with a line-up featuring actors Tamzin Outhwaite, David Threlfall and Arinzé Kene
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Some good news for final year students at the collapsed Scottish Institute... www.thestage.co.uk/news/scottis...
thestage.co.uk
Scottish Institute students able to graduate, accrediting body confirms
Bath Spa University has confirmed that final-year students at the closed Scottish Institute will be able to graduate this summer
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Here is this week's Shouts and Murmurs (mostly) for paid supporters of The Crush Bar, with... - a bit about the Fringe, the Scottish Institute, and the abuse of optimism - review round-ups of Here We Are, Hamlet Hail To The Thief, and more - lots of links thecrushbar.substack.com/p/as-a-theat...
thecrushbar.substack.com
As a theatre journalist, you see the industry at its optimistic best and exploitative worst
Could we have one without the other? Was it worth staging Sondheim's last musical? Has technology in theatre gone too far? All in this week's issue of Shouts and Murmurs.
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
An update on the Scottish Institute situation... www.thestage.co.uk/news/bath-sp...
thestage.co.uk
Bath Spa Uni working on 'resolution' for students at Scottish Institute
Bath Spa University has said it is working “to find a timely and appropriate resolution” for students at the Scottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film and Television, which went into liquidation earl...
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Fergus Morgan @fergusmorgan.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Such a pleasure to chat to actor and writer Sid Sagar for @thestage.co.uk, who has a very busy summer ahead... www.thestage.co.uk/features/sid...
thestage.co.uk
Sid Sagar: interview with the actor and writer
As actor/writer Sid Sagar prepares for his role in Mrs Warren’s Profession, he talks about his inspirations, career highlights and desire to play meaner characters
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