Scottish Theatre Highlights: May 2025

Martyr Theatre opens the month with Ed and I at Glasgow's Theatre 118 (30 Apr-2 May), a historical play set in 1307. Told through puppetry and original music, it tells the story of a newly crowned Edward II as he attempts to reconnect with his exiled lover. The production marries the historical with the surreal in an ambitious ode to queer histories and fairytale.

Edinburgh-based collective Heads on Crooked puts up its new play, Mushroomification: Legs, Legs, Legs at Augustine United Studio (2-4 May). The play follows a mushroom desperate to be an individual and a human desperate to find a way to make all people truly equal.

Outwith It, a newly minted Scottish theatre company, presents The Gray Plays, a concert reading of four short plays by Alasdair Gray, at Òran Mór in Glasgow on 4 May. Compered by Cora Bissett, the evening will feature readings of Goodbye Jimmy; Loss of the Golden Silence; Quiet People; and The Man Who Knew About Electricity. The project is presented in association with Alasdair Gray's Estate.

Water Colour, written by St Andrews Playwriting Award winner Milly Sweeney, will premiere at Pitlochry Festival Theatre (9-17 May). The play follows two intertwining narratives about connection, mental illness, and self-discovery.

National Theatre of Scotland and Lepus Productions are touring KELI (10 May-14 Jun), a new show by accordion virtuoso Martin Green. The play marks 40 years since the Scottish miners' strike and will tour through Stirling, Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth and Glasgow. Featuring a live brass band, KELI tells the story of a talented young brass player in a former mining town. 

At the end of this month, Imaginate kicks off the Edinburgh International Children's Festival, which features 13 productions from seven different countries (24 May-1 Jun). Sporting offerings for adults and children of all ages, the programme promises an innovative, immersive experience for audiences.