PPP: The Corinthian

★★★★☆     Necessary

Assembly Roxy: Wed 10 – Sun 14 Jun 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson

The Corinthian by Joe McCann, the latest Play, Pie and a Pint from Òran Mór at Assembly Roxy, is an engrossing, splendidly performed and utterly timely piece of theatre.

It’s the story of Andrew Watson, born in the 1850s in what was then British Guiana to a Scottish father and Guyanese mother, who went on to play football for Queen’s Park (when that club dominated Scottish football) and captained Scotland in a 6-1 thumping of England.

Watson was the first Black Scottish international, with it being 125 years before there was another. He is still little-known; even Scottish football geeks are more likely to have heard of later English pioneers like Arthur Wharton or Walter Tull.

The one-hander features Dayton Mungai, a final-year student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, who displays tremendous energy and versatility. The play requires him to interact with the audience and embody several other characters as well as negotiating shifts in tone that could be difficult but are handled beautifully. The portrayal of interactions between Andrew and his mother Hannah Rose is particularly effective and emotional.

grit and poetry

McCann’s script combines grit and poetry, earthy humour co-exists with elegance, and there are stark evocations of racism. Parallels with present-day concerns are cleverly and subtly drawn. Martin McCormick’s direction is both energetic and empathetic, making good use of Heather Grace Currie’s imaginative design. The ever-tricky business of showing football on stage is done with some grace. Ross Nurney’s sound design also has some wonderful touches.

The title is an odd one, seeming to refer to Watson’s time at the famous English amateur club Corinthians, where he was partly responsible for introducing a more scientific, passing style that revolutionised English football. This is obliquely referred to, but (like much of Watson’s later life) is not dealt with. Like those occasionally jarring shifts, this may well be the result of trying to cram a whole life into a short time.

What is on stage occasionally seems to play a little fast and loose with the (sparse) historical record, but there is no doubt that the piece is emotionally true and historically necessary.

For it is undeniable that football, then as now, is so ingrained into society at large that it is bound to represent its foibles and follies.

ahistorical stupidities

Just as Scotland are about to make their comeback in a World Cup that is already echoing the excesses, fakeries and ahistorical stupidities of the government of one of its hosts, so Scottish football is always wont to revel in the prejudices of vested interests and the glories of a purely imaginary past.

When I first came across the name of Andrew Watson decades ago, I naively imagined that he would soon become as well known as anyone from Scottish football history. Yet his name keeps being erased anew and rediscovered a few years later to general surprise. I wonder why that is?

Running time: 50 minutes (no interval)
Assembly Roxy (Upstairs), 2 Roxburgh Pl, EH8 9SU
Wednesday 10 – Sunday 14 June 2026
Daily at 1.00 pm; Thursday also at 6.00 pm
Tickets and details: Book here.

ENDS

Tags: A Play A Pie and A Pint, Assembly Roxy, Dayton Mungai, Heather Grace Currie, Hugh Simpson, Joe McCann, Lunchtime Theatre, Martin McCormick, Òran Mór, PPP, Review, Ross Nurney, The Corinthian, Theatre