Review: Flora - A new musical | Flora MacDonald musical, Glasgow Pavilion Theatre

Flora is a new musical from Genesis Theatre Productions that brings the life story of Flora MacDonald to the stage. Best known for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape capture after the Battle of Culloden, the new musical written by Belle Jones, with music from AJ Robertson and John Kielty, presents the mostly unknown story of the Scottish Jacobite heroine to audiences who may be curious about what happened to Flora after she smuggled the bonnie prince 'Over the sea to Skye.'

Flora, a new musical ★★★☆☆

Directed by Stasi Schaeffer, Flora narrates her own story in this, her own musical. Flora Junior (Karen Fishwick) takes us through the events of Flora MacDonald's life, while Flora Senior (Annie Grace) adds context, asks questions and offers warnings from the sidelines.

The musical follows Flora from her early life in the Hebrides, to North America with her husband, and then back again. It explains how she famously found herself sailing in a small boat with a Prince, while he - Charles Edward Stuart, the grandson of the King James VII (of Scotland) / II (of England) - was disguised as her maid.

But in reality, that event was just a few days out of Flora MacDonald's life. In fact, Schaeffer's new musical has that incident done and dusted by the middle of Act One. The latter three-quarters of the musical explores beyond the myths of the reluctant heroine and fills in the gaps of her family life and legacy.

Flora, a new musical. Photo: Ewen Weatherspoon

The magnificent score is the beating heart of Flora the musical

It's always fantastic to welcome new writing to our stages in Scotland, and especially so when that writing showcases the stories of women who are normally mere footnotes to a more famous man. Belle Jones uses Flora's own Gàidhlig (Scots Gaelic) language to tell her story here. It's such a beautiful, melodic language that it works perfectly in a musical. But don't worry if you don't speak it, the Gaelic is seamlessly incorporated with English throughout the show.

Flora's magnificent soundtrack by award-winning musicians AJ Robertson and John Kielty blends both languages in an exquisite, ethereal score. The music for Flora is rooted in traditional Scottish / Celtic music but has bright, contemporary influences. Although the central story of this musical takes place in 18th century Scotland, the music that runs through it is lively, creative and modern. The score wouldn't feel out of place at an epic Celtic Connections gig.

The spoken words between the songs in Flora are rhymed, almost rapped at times, so comparisons to Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit hip-hop musical Hamilton are inevitable. More than a few Hamilton vibes can be heard in some of the songs in Flora's soundtrack too, and that can never be a bad thing. Much like Flora MacDonald, American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton's story was largely forgotten until Miranda decided to make a Broadway musical about him, so perhaps the two are not so dissimilar.

Flora a new musical. Photo: Ewen Weatherspoon

Karen Fishwick is flawless

A new musical about a strong female heroine needs a strong leading lady. Luckily Flora has that in Karen Fishwick who is utterly flawless as Flora junior. The book for Flora is wordy; there is a lot of complex, rapid dialogue to work through, and Fishwick never once falters. She's the perfect, charismatic yet authentic Flora. Annie Grace has a little less to do as Flora senior, but she's always captivating when she does step forward. One of the highlights of the show is a beautiful, haunting duet between the two Floras.

Flora the musical would benefit from the addition of a follow-spot or more focused lighting to help identify those speaking. With so many cast members on stage, at times it took me a few seconds to find Flora senior in the shadows at the back of the stage or on top of the wall, and to work out where the narration was coming from.

I also found the large stone set piece took up too much of the stage floor; The musicians were squashed at the side. And although I can see the vision behind an imposing, rocky centrepiece, the precarious slope atop the structure made for a nervy viewing experience as the company carefully shuffled up and down it all evening.

Bonnie Prince Charlie has never been more fabulous

Despite the staging not always working for me, Flora is a fabulous example of ensemble storytelling. The many characters in Flora's story are brought to life by six strong actor musicians, who are further complimented by onstage musicians. Alan McHugh, David Rankine, Lana Pheutan, Sally Swanson and Stephen Clyde are excellent in their various supporting roles, while the glorious Lawrence Boothman steals every scene he's in, and provides most of the (unexpected!) comedy. Bonnie Prince Charlie has never been more fabulous.

Flora soars when the actors become "actor-musicians" - playing hand-held instruments to enhance the musical storytelling. In ensemble scenes such as the ceilidhs and sea shantys, the auditorium is filled with powerful, rousing orchestrations and moving harmonies.

Flora the musical is a tad too long with thirty-four musical numbers in total, and one or two, too many repetitive songs about crossing the ocean. But the music is just so good - there isn't a weak song in the score - that I understand why the creatives were so keen to exhibit as many of them as possible.

The music is the beating heart of Flora, and with it there is a good new musical here. With a few tweaks, Flora may just do the unthinkable and break out of the Scottish theatre bubble. I hope it does; a score this good deserves to be enjoyed by a wider audience. ★★★☆☆

Review: 26 March 2026 | Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow

Flora, a new musical is at Glasgow Pavilion Theatre until Saturday 28 March 2026. The world premiere was held at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness from 20 - 21st March 2026.

More: Read the full Flora cast announcement here: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/flora-musical-cast

Karen Fishwick and Annie Grace in Flora a new musical. Photo: Ewen Weatherspoon