Once, Pitlochry Festival Theatre review: 'a love song to Dublin'
The story of Once is arguably a slight one, writes Joyce McMillan, but John Tiffany and his team are still able to spin it into a beautiful, gently-paced evening of theatre
Once, Pitlochry Festival Theatre ★★★★
In the age of new artistic director Alan Cumming, Pitlochry Festival Theatre is treading a slightly riskier path than of late. The 2012 musical Once – based on John Carney’s 2007 film – certainly comes garlanded with awards, including no fewer than eight Tonys; but its Scottish premiere, opening the 2026 Pitlochry season, perhaps still lacks the high recognition factor that accompanied recent openers such as Grease and Footloose, and may have to work slightly harder to win over Pitlochry audiences.
Work hard it does, though; and not only hard but brilliantly, as its original director John Tiffany – once of the Traverse and NTS – reassembles his brilliant 2012 creative team to remake the show. The story of Once is arguably a slight one, and often feels a little overstretched at almost two and a half hours; but it’s also full of resonance and poignancy, as it charts a brief encounter between a depressed Dublin musician and hoover-mender known as Guy, and a young Czech woman in Dublin known as Girl – an encounter which completely transforms Guy’s life, without leading to any conventional happy ending.
Out of this fragile stuff, though, Enda Walsh’s script, and a fine playlist of 16 songs by composers Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, spin a beautiful, gently-paced evening of theatre. And it’s difficult to imagine it better delivered than by John Tiffany’s magnificent team, which includes inspired movement director Steven Hoggett, as well as a passionate, witty and brilliant cast of ten who transform themselves into a terrific band at the drop of a hat, swerving in astonishing style from wild East European folk rhythms to romantic balladry, and rousing Irish fiddle numbers.
The show is set in what looks like a great Irish pub, of course. And in many ways, the story of Once is finally a love song to Dublin and Ireland; a 21st century nation that still, perhaps, makes the space for music, song and poetry that not only enriches our lives, but also makes it easier to remain open and welcoming, in difficult times. It’s that openness that’s reflected in the young faces of Dylan Wood’s broken but still passionate and poetic Guy, and Lydia White’s magical, beautiful and powerful Girl, as they begin to make music together; and to demonstrate how a story that never mentions politics can still show us how to live well and hopefully, in our frightening 21st century.
Once is at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 27 June.
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