He's Just a Small Town Boy

Random Accomplice, vehicle for the collaborations between Johnny McKnight and Julie Brown, made their reputation for restless and accessible boundary hopping. Both Brown and McKnight recently returned from pantomime duty and, although comfortable with serious matter, like cultural relativism in Douglas Maxwell's Promises Promises, Smalltown takes an intense theme – water pollution – and slips in the zombie references.

"Smalltown is absolutely a big, bold, bawdy comedy," McKnight explains. "It's probably closer to the pantomimes than previous Random Accomplice shows. When we were conceiving the show we always had strong reference points – Scooby Doo, Twilight Zone, Grindhouse, and B Movies."

Three of Scotland's established writers lend a specific Ayrshire touch (Maxwell, McKnight and DC Jackson wreak terror across three towns), Smalltown imagines how a tainted water supply might wipe out outsiders, turn sexually active teenagers feral or make zombies. And since there are three playwrights, there are three possible endings: the audience decides on the night.

"It is pure unabashed, unapologetic entertainment," McKnight continues. "But it also says interesting things about identity, location, nature versus nurture arguments. 2010 felt like a really heavy year and we wanted to bring in the New Year with something more joyous!"

Perhaps best known for the Little Johnny Trilogy, which catalogued McKnight's path to self-acceptance, via family feuds and musical theatre, Random Accomplice return to humour after Promises Promises took a serious detour. But McKnight remains serious in his love for show business.

"I love the possibilities of theatre: that it's live and can't ever really be repeated the same again," McKnight concludes. "Most of all though I love an audience. I want to make work that's accessible to as wide an audience as possible and I don't think you ever need to dumb that down or concern yourself with fears of being viewed as populist."