One month warning: Òran Mór prepares to fire the starting gun on an 18-show Spring offensive.
The panto dames have barely hung up their wigs, but the hibernation in the West End is nearly over. In exactly one month—Monday, February 23rd—A Play, A Pie and A Pint (PPP) kicks the doors open on its Spring 2026 season. While the programme was unveiled back in December, the reality of what lies ahead is only now sharpening into focus: a staggering 18-week run that reaffirms the venue’s status as the engine room of Scottish theatre.
While other producing houses are forced to tread carefully in a climate of funding cuts and risk aversion, PPP is gearing up to do what it does best: volume, variety, and a refusal to play it safe. The upcoming slate is a characteristic mixture of the hyper-local and the historical, pivoting from the political unrest of the Southside to the football pitches of the 19th century.
Artistic Director Brian Logan isn’t mincing words, framing this season as a direct counter-argument to the “sharp downturn in new plays being produced in the UK”. As we approach opening week, that’s a mission statement I’m delighted to get behind.
Òran Mór isn’t just filling lunchtime slots; it’s holding the line for new writing in Scotland. Whilst performances concentrate at their Glasgow base and the Traverse in Edinburgh, look out for PPP shows springing up across Scotland this Spring.
Spring 2026: Selected Highlights
Venue Guide:
- Òran Mór, Glasgow: Mondays – Saturdays, 1:00 PM
- Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh: Tuesdays – Saturdays (select weeks)
The Season Opener: Someone’s Knockin’ at the Door by Milly Sweeney
- Òran Mór: 23 – 28 Feb
- Traverse: 3 – 7 Mar
The season launches with a creative pairing that demands attention. Writer Milly Sweeney made a critically acclaimed debut at Pitlochry Festival Theatre last year with Water Colour, a production we covered extensively. She is paired here with director Sally Reid, who is currently enjoying a golden run of form. Reid not only blew audiences away with her revival of Shirley Valentine in 2025, but she also helmed the Tron’s first-class Christmas offering, Gallus in Weegieland. It is a formidable partnership to kick off the year.
The Cult Comedy: The Legend of Davie McKenzie by Stephen Christopher & Graeme Smith
- Òran Mór: 2 – 7 Mar
- Traverse: 10 – 14 Mar
Following the opener to the capital is the latest from the team behind Dancing Shoes—a production that impressed our reviewer Sass MacDonald this past Christmas. Christopher and Smith return with a darker proposition: a “fast-paced” comedy about a prisoner who dies on the day of his release, leaving his cellmate to construct the legend the system denied him. If their previous form is anything to go by, expect a sharp, cinematic caper.
left to right, are (in show order):
Milly Sweeney, Stephen Christopher, Graeme Smith, Eve Nicole;
Morna Young, James Reilly, Bethany Tennick, Nathan Scott-Dunn;
Séan O’Neil, Stephanie MacGaraidh, Ross Mackay, Hannah Howie;
Simon Jay, Marc Pye, Gayle Telfer Stevens, Ryan Hay;
Joseph McCann, Debbie Hannan, Nay Dhanak, Andy McGregor.
The Musical: The Swansong by Eve Nicol & Finn Anderson
- Òran Mór: 9 – 14 Mar
- Traverse: 17 – 21 Mar
Adapting a David Greig radio play is no small task, but the involvement of composer Finn Anderson makes this an immediate highlight. Anderson’s music is currently filling the Southwark Playhouse for the premiere of Ballad Lines, a queer folk musical that has rightly turned heads. Pairing his “soulful” score with Eve Nicol’s direction promises a transformative hour in the basement.
Artistic Director Brian Logan isn’t mincing words, framing this season as a direct counter-argument to the “sharp downturn in new plays being produced in the UK”
The Solo Turn: Joy by Morna Young
- Òran Mór: 16 – 21 Mar
Morna Young has serious form at this venue—I still recall the impact of Babs at the Traverse a few years back—not to mention her impressive work on the Lyceum’s The Snow Queen. Joy sees Young tackling the story of a woman attempting to learn a sense of humour via the internet. Given Young’s track record for blending the poignant with the playful, this is a banker for the mid-season slot.
The Ecclesiastical Farce: Miss Lockwood Isn’t Well by James Reilly
- Òran Mór: 23 – 28 Mar
- Traverse: 31 Mar – 4 Apr
Rounding out the Edinburgh transfers is James Reilly’s professional playwriting debut. A comedy-drama concerning a Catholic primary teacher who begins seeing mysterious figures in her classroom, it promises to tackle “the doctrines of religion” alongside the mystery of what lies beneath the staffroom fridge.
With one month left until the first curtain up, the lull is almost over. The pie ovens are warming up, the scripts are in hand, and 18 weeks of chaos, comedy, and drama are about to begin. If you haven’t booked your slot in the crypt or the Traverse basement yet, now is the time.
Featured Image: PPP Spring 2026 Artwork
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