Friday, December 5

Tag: Martin Docherty

Black Hole Sign – Tron Theatre
Scotland

Black Hole Sign – Tron Theatre

Beginning its development in 2021 by Traverse Theatre’s in-house playwright Uma Nada-Rajah, Black Hole Sign hits the stage this week at the Tron Theatre.  Over the course of a night in a collapsing (figuratively and literally) NHS ward, we gain insight into the series of events that led to the dismissal of Senior Charge Nurse Crea (Helen Logan) as she fails to meet her duty of care.  Combining heavy emotional arcs with amusing and outlandish characters, Black Hole Sign captures the toil NHS staff and patients alike face due to overworking and underfunding.  Inspired by Nada-Rajah’s own experience working as a nurse, this play hits hard - the events that take place are harrowing and all too realistic.  The play unpacks a huge myriad of issues; we see the strain put on personal relat...
Moorcroft – Traverse Theatre
Scotland

Moorcroft – Traverse Theatre

This tale of male friendship and football is based on writer / director Eilidh Loan’s own memories of growing up in a working-class community in Renfrewshire, and the stories that her dad told her. The play begins as Garry (Martin Docherty) turns 50. He’s grown weary over the years, and he starts to reminisce about his glory days, in the 1980’s, and the friends he played football with back when he had fire in his belly. As narrator, Garry establishes that the story is about working-class men, and will not feature “big bits of furniture falling from the sky”, or sparkly costumes, because “life is so boring and shite” where he comes from.  Everyone needs an escape from life’s hardships, and these men find it in their grassroots football team, Moorcroft. The characters are well dra...