Uncle Vincent
★★★★☆ Inspiring
Scottish Storytelling Centre: Sat 27/Sun 28 Sept 2025
Review by Erin Frances Speirs
Uncle Vincent is a heartfelt new play from Rebekah King for Peapod Productions. It follows Vincent Willem – nephew of famous artist Vincent van Gogh – as he grapples with the weight of carrying his family’s legacy in the name of a man he never even knew.
Set up as a lecture, Vincent Willem (Philip Kingscott) has been tasked by his mother Johanna van Gogh-Bonger to convince the artistically minded to fund a gallery in van Gogh’s name. Vincent is nervous and unprepared, carrying notes from his mother which he has been instructed to follow to the word, but he quickly strays.
As he attempts to convince his audience of his uncle’s greatness, Vincent begins to finally convince himself of it too, understanding the importance behind his mother’s life mission of building van Gogh’s legacy.
Philip Kinscoat in Uncle Vincent. Pic: Sinclair MacKenzie.
King’s writing thoughtfully delves through a family wrought with heartbreak and a man who believed he was a great artist whilst simultaneously thinking very little of himself as a person.
The play transitions between personal thoughts from Vincent Willem, memories of his family’s opinions, notes from his mother, and letters written by the van Gogh’s. These carry the audience through the troubled yet fascinating life of a misunderstood man, and the love of a brother and sister-in-law who truly believed in his creative genius.
The set design from Kelly Doherty is beautifully simple, yet deliberate. An easel is surrounded by picture frames which also hang from the ceiling. A vase of sunflowers is set upon two trunks.
Each piece shows a part of Vincent van Gogh’s life: his paintings and easel as the core of his being and the call from within him; the suitcases portraying his varied life, being sent from country to country and from town to town, rejected by so many of those around him; and the sunflowers, his most famous subject, showing the beauty within his unwell mind.
humorous and heartbreaking
Philip Kingscott uses the hanging frames to act as portraits of the characters within the story, appearing behind them as he performs impressions – some humorous, some heartbreaking.
A blazer hangs on the easel and is worn by Kingscott when portraying Vincent van Gogh himself. The blazer’s inner lining is coated in a sunflower print, only to be set free – turned inside out to show its true brightness – once the young Vincent begins to understand his uncle.
Philip Kinscoat in Uncle Vincent. Pic: Sinclair MacKenzie.
The sunflower imagery continues throughout the play, with leaves of the flower falling to the ground in place of blood when van Gogh infamously removes his own ear in a state of confused longing, hurt, and betrayal. These moments are directed beautifully by Daniel Orejon, creating stunning imagery on stage.
Kingscott never wavers in his engaging and naturalistic performance as Vincent Willem. His impressions of other characters within the text are distinct whilst carrying comedy throughout the production.
His performance as Vincent van Gogh himself does at times seem overly crazed, however. Although this is justified within the text, as Vincent Willem believes this to be his uncle’s natural state. It is only as the play progresses and he sees the truth of his uncle’s life that this performance softens into a more realistic, yet still very troubled, man.
delicately written
Kingscott engages with his audience throughout. They are set up as the lecture theatre crowd, allowing for confident interactions without any true audience participation; drawing them closer to the story – without detracting from the play’s strong text.
As the play reaches the most tragic and lonely moments of van Gogh’s life, the energy of the production itself drops slightly, understandable yet disappointing in this engaging one-person play. However, Kingscott successfully gets audiences back on his side for the heart wrenching yet inspiring conclusion.
Uncle Vincent is a delicately written, engaging new play exploring grief, mental health, and familial love. The production explores these themes with precision, and is highly recommended to art fans and neophytes alike.
Running time: One hour (no interval).
Scottish Storytelling Centre (Netherbow Theatre), 43 High St, EH1 1SR
Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September 2025
Saturday: 7pm, Sunday: 3pm.
Run ended.
Peapod Productions link:
Facebook: @peapodprod
Rebekah King link:
Substack post about the show: rebekahkingwriter.substack.com.
Uncle Vincent on tour
The Barony Theatre, Borrowstoun Road, Bo’ness EH51 9RS
Saturday 4 October at 8pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
The Lemon Tree, 5 West North Street, Aberdeen AB24 5AT
Thursday 9 October at 7:30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Beacon Arts Centre, Custom House Quay, Greenock, PA15 1HJ
Saturday 11 October: 8pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine, KA12 8PZ
Wednesday 15 at 7:30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Tickets and details: www.thehac.co.uk
The Harbour Chapel, 10 Victoria Street Dunbar EH42 1ET
Thursday 13 November: 8pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Tickets and details: www.harbourchapel.com
Smailholm Village Hall, Smailholm, Kelso, TD5 7PH
Details: www.smailholm-village.org.uk
Philip Kinscoat in Uncle Vincent. Pic: Sinclair MacKenzie.
Tickets: on the door, or in advance from Kinsman Blake Gallery, The Pottery, Barn House, Smailholm, Kelso TD5 7PH (ph: 01573 460 666)
ENDS
