Hoors

"I mean we were all nutters. The things we used to do. I think back. Fucking hell. Scrapes and japes and nonsense and that, ay... I don’t know how we never got killed sometimes. Suddenly it all seems so long ago."

Hoors is the new play by Gregory Burke, author of the National Theatre's smash hit Black Watch. Capturing the stag-night antics that won't stay abroad, Hoors examines the horror of modern mating rituals, complete with failed weddings and the terrible sense that the party is finally over. Burke is one of the new generation of Scottish authors who combine black comedy with terse insights on modern society. And while Hoors has been in gestation since 2005, its bleak mood and dark comedy exposes the come-down being felt by a generation high on economic ecstasy. Although even Burke has complained that this show will remain in Black Watch's immense shadow, it promises ripe language and an adult, humorous take on adult problems. It also represents a brave attempt by the author to avoid grand statements, preferring to examine domestic disharmony over national politics. It is also a rare example of a modern play grappling with modern anxieties: exactly the sort of work that the Traverse's remit for new writing ought to encourage.