Wallace
★★★★☆ Unsettling
Braw Venues @ Hill Street (Venue 41): Fri 7 – Sun 30 Aug 2026
Review by Matty Sheridan
Wallace by Derek Douglas, staged by Edinburgh Little Theatre at the Hill Street venue, is set on the eve of the execution of William Wallace, the champion of Scotland’s first war of independence.
The play opens on a lone figure dressed in rags huddled on a bench. Four posts mark the edges of the space. The figure wakes and introduces himself as Wallace, in a prison cell awaiting his trial for treason, and then looks back over his life.
Reworked from versions which featured extra characters on stage, the 2026 production sees Bobby Bulloch reprise his turn as Wallace, but this time he is the only character on stage. Other characters are still present, but represented by pre-recorded voices.
Bobby Bulloch as William Wallace. Pic ELT
Bulloch delivers an evocative description of key events in Wallace’s life with minimal props and no special effects. He speaks directly to the audience with an intensity of focus that draws you in. By wearing metal manacles, the staging emphasises the brutality of conditions but also changes Bulloch’s movement.
Wallace has been reduced to a hunched, shackled version of his former self. Bulloch uses the movement and noise of the chains to add drama to the vivid retelling of events such as the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The brutal reality of battle is evoked without ever seeing a sword drawn on stage.
Douglas’ script does not sugar coat, Wallace’s faults and mistakes are recognised but between the script and Bulloch’s acting they create a sympathetic character.
Beside taking in the key points of Wallace’s life it considers his personal motives and the toll which his life experiences might have taken on him. It is a vivid introduction to Wallace’s story aiming to bring him to life for a modern audience.
For relative novices to Scottish history it brings fire; for those more steeped in Scottish history this may not add much to the debate.
intense and absorbing
The mix of monologues and dialogue between unseen voices and Wallace on stage is not altogether successful.
Wallace’s own monologues are delivered direct to the audience: intense and absorbing. Bulloch has a rich voice and expressive face which, combined with his physicality, bring the character to life.
A second monologue from an unseen narrator describes Wallace’s trial and execution. This is delivered calmly and unemotionally which serves to highlight the brutality of the execution, leaving the audience with no doubt about the violence of being hung, drawn and quartered.
Dialogues occur between Wallace and an unseen gaoler as well as with King Edward I. The gaoler’s dialogue detracts from the tension and doesn’t feel necessary. Edward’s does contribute to the story ,and further outlines Wallace’s motivations, but isn’t as engaging as the monologues. The play would be equally gripping if it were simply staged as a monologue from Wallace.
While there are no depictions of violence, the verbal descriptions may upset in this unsettling experience of bringing history to life.
Running time: One hour (no interval).
Braw Venues @ Hill Street (Dunedin Theatre), 19 Hill Street, EH2 3JP (Venue 41).
Friday 7 – Sunday 30 August 2026.
Daily: 2.15pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.come.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
ENDS
