A Toast Fae the Lassies – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

A widow, a mother, and a mistress walk into a bar—sorry, graveyard—to mourn the loss of the recently deceased Robert Burns. On seeing the other women there, the group soon end up reminiscing and sparring with each other over their relationships to the late poet and his proclivities. Generously peppered with well-known Burns’ songs, A Toast Fae The Lassies both celebrates Burns as a poet while reprimanding his behaviour as a man through the eyes of the women in his life.

The songs are, of course, the highlight of this play, with musical direction and arrangement by Alyson Orr, who also plays Agnes Broun, Burns’ mother. Orr brings spirit to the stage with her charming arrangements, performed beautifully by herself and the rest of the cast. Chris Coxon accompanies the singing on the guitar, posing as the silent ghost of Burns. Having him very present on stage slightly verged on cheesy, but writer and director John Binnie just about got away with it.

Certain content within the writing was questionable at times, oscillating between condemning Burns’ unfaithful behaviour and excusing it—brushing it off as “part of his nature.” Frankly, I’m not sure this piece is rooted strongly enough in feminist values to get away with this. A Toast Fae The Lassies’ whole premise is that Burns was something of a dog when it came to women, but the way in which it deals with this concept felt somewhat superficial. The writing of the characters puts the women in opposition to one another, but in favour of Burns.

Jean Armour (Burns’ widow, played by Stephanie Cremona) is the exception to this. However, it feels as if her character is only written in this way to counteract the male-centricity of the other two characters, with her snide remarks about Burns mostly being asides—almost as if written as an afterthought. Orr is a classic “boy-mum,” defending her son with an almost Freudian ferocity, making clear her disliking of Jean and blaming the actions of her son on her. Burns’ mistress, Clarinda (Eden Barrie), revels in the fact that she was never physical with Burns despite his desperate passes at her, partaking in what some in the modern day might call “intellectual cheating.” This time it is Jean taking out her anger at Burns onto Clarinda. The women are pitted against each other, yet when they finally just accept that this was simply who Burns was, they are suddenly comrades. Perhaps this is a dramatic reading, but to me there are major flaws in the writing.

Despite my long spiel, A Toast Fae the Lassies was still very much enjoyable. The piece is spattered with humour, which the cast perfectly capture—there is definitely a chuckle to be had. The cast really pull this together, capturing the juxtaposition between the cutting and brazen nature of Jean and Agnes, with the upstanding and curtness of high-society Clarinda. Each performance is well delivered, traversing easily between the myriad of emotions grief provokes. When this trio sings together, it is perfectly blended and sweet—truly blissful.

We end the performance with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne, which the audience can’t help but sing along to, crossing arms and swinging as if it were Hogmanay. The play’s success is heavily reliant on the songs and the patriotism and sense of togetherness they invoke in an audience. And while I questioned the values of the writing, one can’t help but feel fond towards the songs of Burns.

Reviewer: Jessie Martin

Reviewed: 4th September 2025

North West End UK Rating: