Double Bill
★★★★☆ Accomplished
The Royal Scots Club (Venue 241): Mon 24 – Sat 29 Aug 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Double Bill from the Edinburgh Makars at the Royal Scots Club for the Fringe’s final week features two contrasting plays in Fool’s Errand and Still Life, and provides excellent value for one ticket.
The first, Fool’s Errand, written and directed by Georgia Smith, is a new comedy. An attempt at housebreaking by Nick (Calum Rosie) goes awry when it turns out it is the home of an actual witch called Annie (Bunny Steven). Plus there’s a cat (Maria Rasinkangas), and it turns out the house itself may be magic…
Bunny Steven (Annie), Maria Rasinkangas (Cat) and Calum Rosie (Nick). Pic Martin Burnell.
The play itself is immensely likeable, being witty, fun and cleverly structured, although it may be ten minutes too long. The level of realism fluctuates from moment to moment, and the audience is expected to take quite a lot on trust, but there’s a momentum and coherence to it overall that is highly impressive.
There’s also a good deal of deft characterisation and sparky dialogue, done justice by the cast. Steven in particular is outstanding as Annie, with a nuanced and sympathetic portrayal benefiting from excellent comic timing.
spiky mystery
Rosie’s bewildered Nick has a pleasing physicality and energy, while Rasinkangas gives the cat a spiky mystery and appropriate haughtiness. Kennedy Martin-Bourne’s cameo as the Moon is funny and well-judged.
Smith’s direction is very good indeed, making excellent use of the acting space. Technically the production is first-rate and it provides a highly satisfactory start to the double bill.
Calum Rosie (Nick) and Kennedy Martin-Bourne (The Moon). Pic: Martin Burnell.
After the interval comes a tonal contrast with Still Life by Noël Coward. This is the one-act play that formed the basis of the film Brief Encounter. If the story is seen on stage now, it tends to be based on the movie and with more knockabout elements, as in Emma Rice’s version for Kneehigh.
It is admittedly difficult for modern audiences to warm to the buttoned-up battle between duty and desire displayed by central pairing Alex and Laura and their forbidden love. Ever since Round The Horne spoofed the duo in the form of ‘Fiona and Charles’ played by ‘Dame Celia Molestrangler and ageing juvenile Binkie Huckaback’ the more ludicrous elements of it have been hard to take.
real emotional power
Yet when played totally straight, it has a real emotional power, and the stoicism of Richard Trist’s Alex is very appealing. Helen Goldie, meanwhile, is an outstanding Laura, with the repressed sorrow of the character wonderfully evoked.
In the stage play, the contrast between the star-crossed pair and their earthier counterparts in the station buffet, Myrtle Bagot and Albert Godby, is more foregrounded. Emma Swift and Mike Appleby are very good indeed, with Swift’s Mrs Bagot having more than a hint of a Victoria Wood character in the best possible way.
Freya O’Horo (Beryl Waters), Emma Swift (Myrtle Bagot) and Kevin Duncan (Stanley). Pic: Martin Burnell.
No writer nowadays would cram a one-act play with as many characters as Coward does here, and sometimes it’s difficult to work out why some of them are in it at all, but everyone here discharges their roles with diligence and spirit.
Freya O’Horo’s Beryl is particularly good, especially when she silently observes one of Alex and Laura’s meetings, and the other performers (Kevin Duncan, Jamie Watson, Becca McNeish and Rosie again) all give life to their roles. Special mention to Kirsty Wotherspoon, whose pivotal cameo as the gossipy Dolly Messiter is judged to comic perfection, bringing the sadness of the ending into horribly sharp relief.
measured and empathetic
The direction (by John Scott Moncrieff and Swift) is measured and empathetic, and the story unfolds in a relaxed manner. Still Life is always going to look like a period piece now, but when done carefully and sympathetically it has resonance, as it does here.
The two halves of this double bill complement each other effectively in tone, and the overall effect is highly creditable.
Running time: Two hours and 5 minutes (Including one interval).
The Royal Scots Club (Hepburn Suite), 29-31 Abercromby Place, EH3 6QE. (Venue 241)..
Monday 24 – Saturday 29 August 2026.
Daily: 7.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Makars website: www.edinburghmakars.com
Facebook: @edinburghmakars
Instagram: @edinburghmakars
Richard Trist (Dr Alex Harvey), Kirsty Wotherspoon (Dolly Messiter) and Helen Goldie (Laura Jesson). Pic: Martin Burnell.
ENDS
