★★★★★

“the slickest and most joyful offering to the Scottish Christmas landscape this year”

Not for a long time have I left a theatre in higher spirits than after seeing Gallus in Weegieland – Tron Theatre’s annual winter pantomime. Written by Johnny McKnight and directed by Sally Reid, this show is a masterpiece of comedy, character and cultural references that will leave your head spinning in the best possible way.

The show is a comically Glaswegian twist on the Alice in Wonderland story. We meet Alice, an aspiring dancer with a big heart and very little talent, who is on a metaphorical journey to find herself and along the way hopefully her love, imagination and bravery. She asserts her bravery early on by following a half-boy-half-rabbit, Knavey, underground into the magical Weegieland. Here she is treated to a chorus of Glaswegian characters, decked out in fake designer and framed by a collage of high street shop names and pigeons. We follow Alice’s journey as she meets Hatter (not mad, just eccentric), the wannabe psychic Honey the Caterpillar and, eventually, the terrifying Queenie of Hearts. Alice must find her imagination and decide if love is really worth staying in Weegieland forever.

From start to finish, the cast of this production excel. Jessica Donnelly and Aidan MacColl as ensemble offer delightful characterisation throughout, elevating any scene they are in. Marc Mackinnon is sublime as the diva Honey, continually enrapturing the audience with their killer vocals and dry delivery. Star Penders perfectly encapsulates the mummy’s boy persona of Knavey, and one can’t help but be pulled in by Catriona Faint’s charming Hatter. Indeed, Faint’s banter with the audience is a real highlight of the show and their quick fire jokes so expertly delivered like ace after ace at a grand slam tennis match. Jorgey Scott-Learmonth offers a truly endearing Alice which skillfully never tips into the annoying – we are rooting for her throughout. The absolute scene stealer for this show, however, is Louise McCarthy as Queenie of Hearts. We come to learn very early that when McCarthy is onstage, all eyes are on her. She delivers the role with such unhinged movements and expressions that the audience is in stitches for two hours straight.

One of the most joyous elements of this show was its music, an original score composed by Ross Brown. The songs employed clever lyrics, catchy tunes and they were, as Queenie of Hearts would say, absolute bangers. Having original songs throughout elevated the show above the panto norm and, combined with the frequent interactions with the live pianist, reminded us that music is just as integral a part of panto rep as anything else. Add on top of that Eva Forrester’s vibrant choreography and the show becomes a wonderland of musical theatre.

The show offers the epitome of a pantomime aesthetic, with design by Kenny Miller, and dazzles from start to finish in outlandish patterns and colours and lights. The stage is relatively small, but it manages to feel huge and the energy and atmosphere extends into the whole room.

The audience were a little shy at points, and a couple of jokes flew past our heads, but with a little more bedding in this show could well be the slickest and most joyful offering to the Scottish Christmas landscape this year. This is the perfect show for locals and visitors alike to escape and be dazzled by a truly unapologetically Glaswegian pantomime.

101 DALMATIANS THE MUSICAL

Eventim Apollo

★★★★

“joyous and fun”

It’s a story that reminds us of our childhood in many ways. Although originally a 1956 novel by Dodie Smith, for many of us, our memories will be of when we first saw a version of the film. Well this show (adapted for the stage by Zinnie Harris and directed by Bill Buckhurst) certainly transports us back to our youth with a musical twist on the well-known and much loved adventure.

Possibly of most concern to people going to the show is a fairly obvious question. “How will they be able to pull it off?” One may think that the film couldn’t possibly translate to the stage and for understandable reason. The main characters are dogs and there are a lot (101!) of them. However, this element is probably the most masterful of the production. Throughout the performance, actors handle life-size puppets of dogs, fit with moveable legs, necks and mouths and with wagging tails. This was an incredibly ambitious undertaking, that could easily have come across as a lazy imitation. However, because of the authenticity of the enactment (and Jimmy Grimes’ puppet direction) one can easily look past that these are puppets and indulge the characters in what they are saying. Clearly, we are watching remarkable innovation from the puppet team (Mikayla Teodoro).

The show benefits from precise and clear choreography (Lucy Hind) throughout. David Woodhead’s set is stunning enhanced with clever lighting from James Whiteside. Actors who play the canine characters expertly multitask by singing (music and lyrics by David Hodge) and manoeuvring their puppets simultaneously. The characters of Pongo (Linford Johnson) and Perdi (Emma Thornett) are particularly impressive. It looks a particularly tiring performance for the actors, but the show maintains its energy remarkably through to the end.

Nevertheless, the standout performance comes from Sydnie Christmas as Cruella De Vil, for whom it is her first musical theatre performance since winning Britain’s Got Talent in 2024. Christmas is, above all else, a very convincing villain, as she kidnaps 99 dalmatians to try and use their fur. However, she takes the character to new levels, which we haven’t seen before, as she nails musical numbers one after another. It is a spellbinding performance from someone who will go on to lead countless West End productions.

The other star names in the production are Jeff Brazier and Aston Merrygold who play Casper and Jasper, Cruella’s nephews, or more like Cruella’s terrified obedient assistants. Their performances are more than adequate if not spectacular, not reaching the depths of sincerity that we see from Cruella. Even so, that shouldn’t be seen as a criticism of their performance, more that the strength of the show comes from the togetherness of the ensemble rather than a few star performances.

The show is joyous and fun, if not always effortlessly so. At times, jokes are forced such as: “Nobody makes a mug of Cruella De Vil, unless it’s sold as official merchandise.” Notwithstanding this, one couldn’t ask for much more from a family-friendly show with astonishing music, choreography and live interaction.

GALLUS IN WEEGIELAND

Tron Theatre

★★★★★

“the slickest and most joyful offering to the Scottish Christmas landscape this year”

GALLUS IN WEEGIELAND

Tron Theatre

Reviewed on 21st November 2025

by Kathryn McQueen

Photography by Mihaela Bodlovic

Previously reviewed at this venue:

GALLUS IN WEEGIELAND

GALLUS IN WEEGIELAND

GALLUS IN WEEGIELAND

101 DALMATIANS THE MUSICAL

Eventim Apollo

★★★★

“joyous and fun”

101 DALMATIANS THE MUSICAL

Eventim Apollo

Reviewed on 24th July 2025

by Luke Goscomb

Photography by Johan Persson

Recently reviewed by Luke:

101 DALMATIANS

101 DALMATIANS

101 DALMATIANS

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