Eastgate Theatre Archives - North West End UK

Concerned Others – The Eastgate Theatre, Peebles

19Oct

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Concerned Others – The Eastgate Theatre, Peebles

Concerned Others is an installation-style docu-drama, utilising live art, tiny models, puppetry, masks and even a treadmill to convey the hidden inner world of the addict and society’s unwilling attitude to look this problem squarely in the face. It is mesmerising with its real-life voice-overs and shocking statistics about the counter culture of substance abuse and crime endemic in Scotland. With Scotland’s statistics for 2025 standing at 21.4 deaths per 100,000 people (four times higher than in the year 2000), drug and alcohol-related deaths in Scotland out-performs the rest of Europe. The death rate in Scotland’s most deprived areas is fifteen times higher than the least deprived areas. Yet no-one, no class, is immune. The soundscape of this intriguing miniature theatre (which...

Dinna Trust Anyone: Witches of Peebles – Eastgate Theatre

It’s 1629 in the market town of Peebles. There’s a war on, the harvest has failed, and rumours of witchcraft abound. The ghosts like to gather on Christmas Eve. A modern-day couple (Jennifer Bunyan, David Bon) settle into their hotel room. They gradually become aware that they are not alone. In the first act, the ghosts recount their grim stories. Some were convicted of witchcraft because they were childless, or gay, or foreign. Some seek to justify their role in the executions. But in this Peebles, the Devil wears a cassock. Reverend Syd (Will Tillotson) summons a storm from the pulpit. Examine your souls, my flock. Make a note of who’s absent from the congregation. The devil’s handmaiden has a barren womb. First-time playwright Kath Mansfield knows how to write words that come a...

Men Don’t Talk – The Eastgate Theatre, Peebles

New theatre writing is always welcome and Clare Prenton’s Men Don’t Talk, produced by Genesis Theatre Productions, tackles an interesting and topical subject: male suicide statistics and how men cope with life when it gets tricky: where are their support systems? How do you cope without turning to pub culture and liver damage? Men Don’t Talk is a one-act play supported by Creative Scotland Touring Funds. It blends tenderness, small talk, heartfelt revelations and huge dollops of laughter. The three actors, Billy Mack (Jimmy), Greg Powrie (Tom) and Dougal Lee (Ken) create a welcoming atmosphere as they interact with the audience, extending to sharing a cuppa as they “chat”. A scattering of sawdust to sop up spilled milk and the set would be perfect. It was perfectly apt that the s...