Jos Slovick, Dylan Wood and Lydia White in Once at the Pitlochry Theatre. Picture: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
Once continues at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 27 June 2026.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
It’s fair to say that musical theatre in Scotland is having ‘a bit of a moment’. Audiences continue to be spoilt for choice. A true champion of Scottish musical theatre is the Pitlochry Festival Theatre where Alan Cumming’s first season as artistic director opens with Once, the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical having its Scottish premiere under the skilful direction of John Tiffany (the production reunites many of the original 2011 creative team).
The pre-show is utterly joyous. The theatre is transformed into a Dublin pub with a red and white chequerboard floor surrounded by ‘pubinalia’ on the walls that are all but covered in mirrors and pictures, reflecting the central area, making the audience feel connected to the setting.
A large working bar is set upstage and open for business. Members of the audience can buy drinks at the bar, mixing with the onstage musicians as they rattle their way through jubilant Irish jigs and rousing songs.
Bob Crowley’s stage design is thoroughly impressive and practical. A magical imagining of a Dublin bar that is paired to perfection with Natasha Katz’s lighting design. A fringe of mismatched wooden chairs surround the playing area, providing seating for the onstage musicians.
Enda Walsh’s book is at turns witty and touching and very thoroughly anchored in a contemporary Dublin. The writing gives the performers distinct voices for each character: the leading man, Guy (Dylan Wood) is most definitely ‘Doblin’ and Girl (Lydia White) is a Czech migrant. White’s accent is an accurate blend of Irish and Czech with a charm to it. The ‘offstage’ plot embodies the dichotomy of Irish people migrating to New York for a better life and Czechs migrating to Dublin also looking for a better life.
The supporting cast is more than up to the challenge. There are a range of comical characters, each pitched perfectly, and episodes of stylised movement that lean into the story. This show is simple yet complex and is handled sensitively and delicately.
The musical score diverts away from the more traditional folk music from the pre-show pub into songs, primarily in a minor key, reflecting the pathos of a tentative relationship between Guy and Girl as they spontaneously compose together. The multi-layered harmonies that linger in moments of stillness are gorgeous. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová’s haunting music is fully integrated with Walsh’s text enhancing the emotional register of the story.
The musicianship is outstanding – multi-instrumentalists that seem almost telepathic in their communication with each other. Exquisite timing matched with wonderful stage presence.
A gentle, lyrical show heralding a great season ahead in Pitlochry.
Fiona Orr
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