a play, a pie and a pint spring 2015

A Play, A Pie and A Pint

17 Mar – 18 Apr

“What's not to enjoy?” The Scotsman

£120131 228 1404www.traverse.co.uk

Presented by Traverse Theatre

Audience favourite A Play, A Pie and A Pint is back on the Traverse menu this spring by popular demand. We’ll be serving up five new plays this season, from Scotland, England, Wales and Ukraine; three of which were originally commissioned by the Traverse Theatre. Learn a little more about the productions and their creators in the pages to follow. Or why not explore our website and social media channels to gain further insights into the series.

“The best value cultural event in the country.”

The Sunday Times

• £12 tickets include a play, a pie and a pint of beer/125ml glass of house wine/regular glass of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, lemonade, orange juice, tea or filter coffee

• Our line-up offers an eclectic mix of themes, characters and stories to enjoy

• With lunchtime and evening performances there is a time to suit every schedule

• Each performance is presented as an easily digestible 50-minute package

We kindly request that pies are consumed in the café bar area and are not taken into the theatre.

www.traverse.co.uk / @traversetheatre / #PPPTrav

Tue 17 – Sat 21 March, 1pm Fri 20 March, 1pm & 7pm

Presented in collaboration with Sherman Cymru

“Will you look at the day? Beautiful, ah? Summer throws you one of these just before it all goes west.”

Three generations of the same family soak up the last of the sun’s rays in their back garden, beers in hand. But underlying tensions are soon brought to boiling point in this rich poetic drama.

Acclaimed Welsh writer Matthew Trevannion casts a darkly humorous eye over the changing fortunes of a family trying to unmoor themselves from their past.

Leviathan By Matthew Trevannion

Depression is indiscriminate and I was inspired to write a play about its singularity, how it's housed in a person, and can, at its worst, present itself as infinite and relentless. A leviathan is a mythical sea creature, huge and powerful. I thought that was a neat metaphor for mental illness, a great dark menace beneath the surface.

Matthew Trevannion


The Day the Pope Emptied Croy

By Martin McCormick

Tue 24 – Sat 28 March, 1pm Fri 27 March, 1pm & 7pm

Originally commissioned by the Traverse Theatre and first presented in the Festival 2014 Breakfast Plays series

It’s 1982 and Croy is deserted. Everyone has gone to see the Pope in Bellahouston Park, apart from two local lads who are out to cause some trouble. But their adventure doesn’t turn out quite as they expected.

“A meticulously plotted study.” The Herald

The idea for this play came about during a comedy writing workshop I attended as part of the Traverse Fifty in early 2013. As an exercise, we were told to come up with a hypothetical pitch for a show. And now that notion has somehow become a reality!

Martin McCormick (A member of Traverse Fifty 2013)


Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha

By Natalia Vorozhbyt Translated by Sasha Dugdale

Tue 31 March – Sat 4 April, 1pm Fri 3 April, 1pm & 7pm

Produced in association with the National Theatre of Scotland

In a modest home on the outskirts of Kiev, Katya and Oksana are busy preparing a funeral meal for their beloved Sasha - a husband, a stepfather, an Army colonel. He was all these things until he dropped stone cold dead on the bathroom floor. But Sasha isn’t going without a fight. His women need him. His country needs him. Now more than ever.

Natalia Vorozhbyt, one of Ukraine's leading playwrights, makes her Traverse debut with this play.

Four years ago, David MacLennan asked me to travel to Moscow, to find out if anyone there might be interested in A Play, A Pie and A Pint. Shortly after that trip, the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine commenced. and we knew the time was ripe. The plays that emerged from that trip, including this one, all responded to what has been happening over the last 18 months. Nothing in the history of Russia or Ukraine is ever simple…

Director Nicola McCartney


Fat AliceBy Alison Carr

Tue 7 – Sat 11 April, 1pm Fri 10 April, 1pm & 7pm


“I’ve given you every little piece of me to keep you happy, fed you every last morsel to keep you interested.”

Moira and Peter have been having an affair for a decade. He’d promised to finally tell his wife today, but then Peter promises a lot of things. Something’s got to give. And it does, when a crack in Moira’s ceiling gives way to something they could never have expected. Tensions rise and the destruction intensifies, threatening to engulf the couple completely. Moira finally begins to question their relationship and what it’s doing to her. When is enough enough?

“The sparkle and swing of the writing is irresistible.” The Scotsman

I was keen to explore a troubled relationship in a way that isn’t as straightforward as it first seems. A crack in the ceiling isn’t the subtlest metaphor, but when it gives way to something so extreme and absurd then the whole thing takes quite a turn.

Alison Carr (A member of Traverse Fifty 2013)


Tue 14 – Sat 18 April, 1pm Fri 17 April, 1pm & 7pm


Grandpa is unconscious on the kitchen table, while Grandma happily nibbles on a biscuit, unawares. Daughter Sheena and Granddaughter Ali look on in disbelief. This wild family comedy, set around an Edinburgh kitchen table, is a sharp take on the pressures of family life.

Time tae poap the kettle oan, likes.

“A razor-sharp black comedy.”British Theatre Guide

Broth started out with the typical premise of having the extraordinary occur within an ordinary setting; but it then pushes the limits of how far the reality of these events can be stretched.

Tim Primrose (A member of Traverse Fifty 2013)

BrothBy Tim Primrose

“One of the most magical theatre initiatives of the last decade.”The Scotsman

Charity (No. SC002368)Registered Office: Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street, Edinburgh, EH1 2ED.

CalendarTue 17 – Sat 21 March Leviathan by Matthew Trevannion

Tue 24 – Sat 28 March The Day the Pope Emptied Croy by Martin McCormick

Tue 31 March – Sat 4 April Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha by Natalia Vorozhbyt

Tue 7 – Sat 11 April Fat Alice by Alison Carr

Tue 14 – Sat 18 April Broth by Tim Primose

1pm performances daily, with 7pm performances every Friday.

www.traverse.co.uk 0131 228 1404

@traversetheatre / #PPPTrav

Cover image by Ana Soldatenko / Design by www.everyonelovescake.co.uk

a play, a pie and a pint spring 2015

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