Whaur’s Yer Wullie Shakespeare Noo is a comedic reenactment debating not just the Scots Enlightenment in the mid-1700s, but also the value of pure entertainment and man’s inclination to cling to traditional modes of thought. Writer and Director, Brian Logan is currently the Artistic Director of A Play, a Pie and a Pint. He has returned to his homeland from a sojourn in London where he championed The Camden People’s Theatre for thirteen years.
Clergymen and thinkers, David Hume and Alexander Carlyle join John Witherspoon (a Scottish Presbyterian Minister and Founding Father of the United States) and Hume’s cousin, John Home, in a fictional recreation of the real men behind several ideas which carry through to today’s society.
Actors, Gavin Jon Wright (so good looking), Kevin Lennon (can dance and play guitar), Frazer Sivewright (wigs a-plenty) and Lewie Watson (the sensitive playwright conflicted with his religion) jointly keep the atmosphere buoyant, bubbling and non-conformist. Playing several characters and playing with the audience makes this a fun one-hour show.
The era explored follows hard on the heels of the Scottish Witch Hunts which ran from 1563 until 1736. The clergy headed the religious courts and ensured they led the pack with Scotland’s execution rate being five times higher than the European average. Given this cultural landscape, Witherspoon’s venomous religious spouting could hear no argument against “the will of God” and he set out to destroy men of faith who welcomed the idea of playhouses and entertainment or performances of any kind. Levity is not for the virtues in his book.
At this time, fellow clergyman, John Home, wrote a play, Douglas. It was performed to great acclaim at the Canongate Theatre in 1756 and was a huge success. Audience members cried Whaur’s Yer Wullie Shakespeare Noo. It transferred successfully to the London Stage. Under fire from Witherspoon who stirred up ecclesiastical backlash against playwriting, Home gave up his living as a clergyman in Athelstaneford. These men who fought together in the Jacobite Uprising took very different paths ultimately.
The bombastic play-acting of the original Douglas script echoes the mechanicals in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It is delightful.
Familiarity with the Scottish vernacular is helpful, as the dialogue is grounded in the native dialect. This gives the script pace and grit. A working knowledge of Scottish history and Philosophy might help too. It is a wordy piece, but also a brilliant physical, fast-paced comedy that doesn’t take itself seriously. Will it transfer to London? Unlikely, given the commitment to speaking in dialect, but, regardless, it is a success where it is relevant: on home turf.
The humour was truly appreciated by the full house on 10th October. What a terrific escape from the Edinburgh wind whorling around the theatre.
Reviewer: Kathleen Mansfield
Reviewed: 9th October 2026
North West End UK Rating: