The Wolf of Poyais – Golden Goose Theatre

The Wolf of Poyais is a new one-man historical satire play from BlueBar productions, written by Sam Went and starring Joz Norris. It tells the fascinating true story of con man Gregor MacGregor, who – in the early 1800s – swindled hundreds of people out of hundreds of thousands of pounds with an outrageous, fraudulent scheme.

Sam Went’s script is both well-researched and very entertaining. The story itself is absolutely fascinating in itself, but Went’s script injects it with even more humour and poignancy. The script is darkly funny; it revels in the absurdity of MacGregor’s scheme, while still treating the devastating impact it had on people’s lives with gravitas. 

Many plays based on true stories fall into the trap of simply depicting one historical event after another, with no thought given to dramatic structure. This play does not. Went has taken the life of Gregor MacGregor and interpreted it to fit a satisfying dramatic structure with a clear character arc, without it feeling overly contrived or fictionalised. Went helps himself in this endeavour by framing the entire story as an entrepreneur’s self-help seminar; the character is telling a compelling story. MacGregor’s eight steps to success provide a clear framework around which the story is told, while also serving as excellent satire of modern capitalism. Overt parallels are made to specific contemporary people and events – such as Elon Musk and cryptocurrency – but for the most part the script feels timeless. I’m sure it would have gone down well 20 years ago, and it will probably be well-received 20 years from now.

Joz Norris’s performance is fantastic. He seamlessly switches between the various facets of Gregor MacGregor’s character – flamboyant seminar-leader, humble Scottish farmer, manipulative and ruthless businessman, charming socialite – with grace and precision. Norris is exceptionally funny in this role, delivering the scripted jokes with perfect comic timing and coming up with quick-witted japes on the fly when doing crowd work. Not only is he funny, but he is dramatically engaging too. He draws the audience into MacGregor’s plans in such a way that it is possible to get caught up in the excitement while ignoring the ethical implications, until the script and performance remind you that this scheme – and modern-day schemes like it – have serious consequences for real people.

Director and sound designer Hector Laszlo Cosmetatos does an excellent job of staging the show engagingly and dynamically. The battle scenes (MacGregor took part in various revolutionary wars in the Americas – a crucial factor in his later scheme!) are particularly dynamic and exciting thanks in large part to Cosmetatos’s sound design. Occasionally some of the more cacophonous sound cues distract from Norris’s performance rather than enhancing it, but these moments are rare. Ruth Harvey’s lighting design is also great, switching from gaudy and colourful to understated and subtle as befits each moment of the story.

Overall, The Wolf of Poyais succeeds both at telling a fascinating true story and at being an entertaining satire. Joz Norris’s performance brings Sam Went’s clever script to life with both humour and poignancy, leaving the audience entertained and educated in equal measure.

The Wolf of Poyais runs until the 25^th October at the Golden Goose Theatre, with tickets available at: https://www.goldengoosetheatre.co.uk/whatson

Reviewer: Charles Edward Pipe

Reviewed: 22nd October 2025

North West End UK Rating: