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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Off to see this lot of Scouse auteurs tonight in a double header with Edinburgh’s The Cathode Ray. Here’s a couple of set lists from last time I saw The Room 44 years ago. Get on board at the Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh College of Art tickets-scotland.com/whats-on/the...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of East is East, a 30th anniversary revival of Ayub Khan Din’s play set in 1970s multi cultural Britain. www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Citizens Theatre Glasgow until Oct 17; Derby Theatre Oct 20-24; Salisbury Playhouse, Nov 3-14

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

New on The Noise of Art… Shop Local! #163 neilcooper.substack.com/p/shop-local... RSA: Out of the Blue: Hox Gallery: Upright Gallery: Traverse: Outhouse: Summerhall: French Institute: Wee Red Bar: Sneaky Pete’s: Leith Depot: People’s Leisure Club: Collective Space: Collective Gallery

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

My thoughts in the @heraldscotland.bsky.social Herald on the decision not to allow theatre critics to review the Pitlochry run of new musical, Ceilidh, before it transfers to London. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2661...

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Reposted by Neil Cooper

The Herald @heraldscotland.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

"As well deserved as her Best Supporting Actress Oscar undoubtedly was, the idea of her playing a supporting role didn’t come close to doing her justice" www.heraldscotland.com/opin... @neilcooper.bsky.social

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of Contact, Jonny Donahoe’s new lunchtime play with Blythe Duff & Mark Barrett www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Òran Mór Glasgow until Oct 10 playpiepint.com; Traverse Edinburgh Oct 13-17 traverse.co.uk; Paisley Town Hall Oct 20-23 paisleytownhall.org.uk

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social Herald obituary of Eva Marie Saint, star of On the Waterfront, North By North West, and much more, who died yesterday aged 102. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/obit...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social look at 12 theatre shows to see on Scotland’s stages in October. Lots of big plays with big ideas. www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Forthcoming… Boots for Dancing - Dance and Resist - a 2nd archive compilation from Edinburgh’s post-punk-agit-funkateers released by @athensofthenorth.bsky.social who also put out BFD’s The Un-Disco Kidds comp Launched Box Energy @Leith FAB Cricket Club Edinburgh Oct 16 Tix - ra.co/events/2541065

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of I’ll Be Seeing You, Martin Sherman’s gay fantasia starring Simon Russell Beale as Liberace. www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... @pitlochryft.bsky.social until Oct 11. www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com/whats-on/ill...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of Future Acts, 6 short films presented by National Theatre of Scotland & BBC Scotland that contemplate where the world is going www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Screening Edinburgh Stirling Inverness Ayr www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/events/futur...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of Tristan & Yseult, Emma Rice’s 21st century reboot of the epic mediaeval love story www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Citizens Theatre Glasgow until Oct 3 citz.co.uk/whats-on/tri... @lyceumedinburgh.bsky.social Oct 20-24 lyceum.org.uk/events/trist...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

New on The Noise of Art… Shop Local! #162 neilcooper.substack.com/p/shop-local... Embassy: RSA: Out of the Blue: Voodoo Rooms: Leith Depot: Wee Red Bar: Pourboy Coffee: Mash House: Sketchy Beats: Leith Cricket Club: Leith Arches: Bongo Club: People’s Leisure Club: Pleasance: Bannermans: Home: etc

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of Whaur’s Yer Wullie Shakespeare Noo? Brian Logan’s lunchtime play about the Scottish Enlightenment’s neglected smash hit www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Òran Mór Glasgow until Oct 3: Traverse Edinburgh Oct 6-10; Lemon Tree Aberdeen Oct 13-17.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

New on the Noise of Art… From the archive… Emma Rice, Tristan & Yseult and the Club of the Unloved neilcooper.substack.com/p/emma-rice-... As Emma Rice’s audacious staging of mediaeval myth tours for the first time in a decade, a look back at what Rice said about it back then.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

50 years ago tonight, David Edgar’s play, Destiny, opened. On the back of this, another look at this essay that starts with a punk/reggae box set, taking in Destiny, Roots, Rock Against Racism gigs & Edgar’s comic strip published around the same time. neilcooper.substack.com/p/destiny-no...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of Remember you are beauty full, Perth Theatre’s revival of Matthew McVarrish’s 1-woman play starring Julie Cullen www.heraldscotland.com/news/2658548... Perth Theatre until Oct 3. www.perththeatreandconcerthall.com/whats-on/rem... Image by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of Wallace: A Musical, Rob Drummond & Dave Hook’s hip hop history of William Wallace, presented by Raw Material www.heraldscotland.com/news/2658549... Image Sally Jubb. Seen Pavilion Glasgow. King’s Edinburgh Sep 30-Oct 1 www.rawmaterialarts.com/wallace2

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Coming soon… (6.15pm today), I’mll be hosting a Q&A with Graham Fellows following a 20th anniversary screening of It’s Nice Up North, his 2006 film made with photographer Martin Parr, and featuring Fellows’ alter ego John Shuttleworth. Still a few tickets left, probably. www.filmhouse.org.uk/home/

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of Happy Days, Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece starring Siobhán Redmond & Forbes Masson in Roxana Silbert’s new production. www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... @pitlochryft.bsky.social until Oct 10. www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com/whats-on/hap...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

New on The Noise of Art… Shop Local! #161 neilcooper.substack.com/p/shop-local... Scott Lawrie Gallery: Mote 102: City Art Centre: Dalkeith House: Out of the Blue: Royal Scottish Academy: Edinburgh College of Art: Dunbar Parish Hall: North Edinburgh Arts: Filmhouse: Wee Red Bar: Dissenter Space:

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A year since the Citizens Theatre reopened its Glasgow Gorbals home after 7 years redevelopment, my @heraldscotland.bsky.social reflection on how it’s been, from Small Acts of Love to 1984 & all points between. Part end of term report, part love letter. www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of Antigone, Lulu Raczka’s audacious 21st century reimagining of Sophocles’ tragedy, revived in Finn den Hertog’s new production www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Tron Glasgow until Oct 10. www.tron.co.uk/shows/antigo... Image by Mihaela Bodlovic.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of The Whaler’s Wifr, Izzy Gray’s play at A Play, a Pie & a Pint. www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Òran Mór, Glasgow, until 26 Sep, the. To Traverse Edinburgh, Gaiety, Ayr, Fairlie Village Hall, Ballantrae Community Hall, Ochiltree Community Hub

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Thanks, Katherine. A great read.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

New on the Noise of Art… Mackenzies - A Dog’s Breakfast neilcooper.substack.com/p/mackenzies... As Mackenzies return after 40 years to launch their debut album of no-holds-barred agit-funk, a look at when they played Splash 1 in Glasgow 4 decades ago. History repeats. @creepingbent.bsky.social

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Sax & violin(s) ahoy tonight at @fruitmarket.bsky.social Fruitmarket Edinburgh, where TFEH presented John Butcher (saxes) & Angharad Davies (violin) in duo, plus Fritz Welch (drum etc) & Firas Khnaisser (drum etc) also in duo, before a closing 4tet. More to come. www.ticketsource.com/tfeh

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

New on the Noise of Art… From the archive… The Steamie - A Modern Classic neilcooper.substack.com/p/the-steami... As Tony Roper’s almost 40-year-old play based around 4 women in a Glasgow washhouse goes out on a new tour, a look at a 2012 interview with Roper as it celebrated its silver jubilee.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

New on The Noise of Art… Shop Local! #160 neilcooper.substack.com/p/shop-local... Out of the Blue: Scott Lawrie Gallery: City Art Centre: Dalkeith House: Mote 102: Banshee Labyrinth: La Belle Angele: Leith Cricket Club: Leith Arches: Fruitmarket: Abbeyhill Primary School: Abbeyhill: etc…

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

RIP Bonnie Greer, playwright, thinker, & more. In 1987 she appeared at the @traversetheatre.bsky.social in Amy Hardie’s play, Noah’s Wife. And look who & what was on next. Image of Joyce McMillan’s Traverse Theatre book, with a chronology by John Carnegie, care of @katherinemend.bsky.social

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I know! It’s brilliant. What a season. Another one I recall from that season was Abel Barebone and the Humble Company by Peter Jukes. All big plays with big ideas.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Would you mind if I shared this, Katherine?

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Brilliant. Thanks for that. I’d forgotten Kathryn Hunter was in it as well. That’s not too shabby a cast, is, it? Your translators archive sounds great.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Top sleuthing. I can’t find anything about it online. There’ll be a cast list in Joyce’s Traverse book, and presumably some documentation in the NLS Traverse archive, but it would be great to see a picture.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Excellent. It’s the first time I’ve seen it. It’s always sold out before I could get a look in before.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I remember seeing her acting at the Traverse in Amy Hardie’s play, Noah’s Wife, circa 1987.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of SIX, the latest tour of the poptastic extravaganza that reinvents Henry VIII’s wives as a girl band www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Festival Theatre Edinburgh until Sep 26, then to Glasgow Inverness & beyond All tix sixthemusical.com/uk-tour/tick...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social Herald review of FEEL_GOOD, Amy Conway’s new lunchtime play about a robotic affair at @playpiepint.bsky.social A Play, a Pie and a Pint. www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Òran Mór Glasgow until Sep 19. playpiepint.com/whats-on/eve...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

New on the Noise of Art From the archive Rest in Power, Persis Jadzé Maravala 1970-2026 - Hotel Medea Remembered neilcooper.substack.com/p/rest-in-po... In honour of theatre director Persis Jadzé Maravala, a 2011 interview on Hotel Medea, an overnight epic that took Edinburgh by storm

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Chuffed to be hosting a Q&A with Graham Fellows following a 20th anniversary screening of It’s Nice Up North, as Fellows’ alter-ego John Shuttleworth visits the Shetlands with photographer/director Martin Parr @filmhouseedinburgh.bsky.social Fri Sept 25. www.filmhouse.org.uk/movie/john-s...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

New on the Noise of Art… From the archive… Iain Heggie - Wiping My Mother’s Arse neilcooper.substack.com/p/iain-heggi... With Iain Heggie’s farce having just received its first stage revival in 25 years, a look back at a 2001 interview introduced by a musing on Heggie’s neglected back catalogue.

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

New on The Noise of Art… Shop Local! #159 neilcooper.substack.com/p/shop-local... Out of the Blue: City Art Centre: Dalkeith House: Scott Lawrie Gallery: Sneaky Pete’s: Fruitmarket: Outhouse: People’s Leisure Club: Banshee Labyrinth: Beat Generation: St. Margaret’s House: Waverley: Argonaut: etc

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social Herald review of Transparent, a new play by LC Stephens for @playpiepint.bsky.social A Play, a Pie and a Pint’s latest lunchtime theatre season. www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Oran Mor, Glasgow until Sept 12. playpiepint.com/whats-on/eve...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social review of The Tailor of Inverness, Matthew Zajac’s solo play that plugs into history to tell a story of exile & survival www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Lyceum Edinburgh until Sep 8 then touring until November. All dates - www.dogstartheatre.co.uk/whats-on/

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

My @heraldscotland.bsky.social Herald look at 11 theatre shows to see in Scotland in September. www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

New on the Noise of Art From the archive… Black Watch - 20 Years On neilcooper.substack.com/p/black-watc... Edinburgh Fringe 2026 marked 2 decades since the National Theatre of Scotland’s early defining moment A look back at a 2006 interview with writer Gregory Burke & director John Tiffany

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Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Minor Poets + SMOKES - The Onion Cellar @ Leith Depot, Edinburgh. 4.9.26

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