Review: Miss Lockwood isn't Well | A Play, A Pie and A Pint
- Lisa in the theatre
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
This week's 'A Play, A Pie and a Pint' at Òran Mór, Glasgow, is James Reilly's Miss Lockwood Isn't Well. The superb new comedy drama plays in Glasgow until Saturday 28th March before transferring to the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh the following week. Read my review below.
Miss Lockwood Isn't Well ★★★★☆
Review: 25 March 2026 | Òran Mór, Glasgow
The pupils at Miss Lockwood's school have been told that she isn't well, but the truth is that she feels fine. True, she has been seeing and talking to mysterious figures that no one else can see, but everything they've said so far has been right on the money.
I'm not going to say too much more about the plot of James Reilly's excellent new comedy drama Miss Lockwood Isn't Well because the joy of this show is in learning why Miss Lockwood has been suspended from her job at a Catholic primary school, and why she is so keen to return. The story unfolds gradually, with each curious reveal wilder and more unexpected than the last.
The play is structured as a real-time interview between Alice Lockwood (Karen Young), who has an hour-long appointment with retired GP Dr Freer (Jane McCarry - Still Game's mega-gossip Isa), whose job it is to assess her for fitness to return to work in a classroom full of children.
It's a clever construct that reveals the peculiar backstory to the audience piece by glorious piece. When Father Mackin (Mark Cox - best known for playing curmudgeonly Tam Mullen in Still Game - in his 'A Play A Pie and A Pint' debut) comes into the interview room, he's incredulous at the ungodly claims that Miss Lockwood makes, and he's entirely unsympathetic to her plight.
The wonderful Jane McCarry's Dr Freer is steadfast, calm, and professional in her interrogation of her patient. She merely wants to understand enough to make a judgment on Miss Lockwood's mental state, and to get to the truth of her suspension. Mark Cox has all the best one-liners. He plays the sceptical priest figure with a devastating deadpan delivery of every line, and they all land with maximum comic impact. Considering Cox and McCarry have been great friends and have worked together on TV and on stage for many years, they both do a remarkable job of playing cool, authoritative characters who are meeting here for the first time.
Karen Young's Alice is pitched to perfection. A young teacher who loves her job, she can't understand why she would be considered a risk to the children in her care. It's a sympathetic exploration of the complexities of General Practice and Mental Health (...or is it something else, more supernatural, entirely?!)
Catriona MacLeod must be credited for interpreting James Reilly's characters and script in the creative, playful, yet unhurried way that she does. Her visionary direction has the three actors sparring with each other against the backdrop of Heather Grace Currie's bright, neon-cross-lined set. She finds a fine balance somewhere between a vibrant dark comedy and a tense, sacrilegious drama. There are moments when the audience laughs and then stops abruptly, wondering if they should be laughing at all.
Miss Lockwood Isn't Well does take a few minutes to ramp up and hit its stride, but when it does, it's beautifully paced, never rushed, always engaging.
I love plays like this where you have no idea where the story will take you, and where this one takes you is on an absurd, hilarious and entertaining ecclesiastical journey into the doctrines of religion and the boundaries of belief.
I highly recommend this week's play; it's such a fun, well-written and acted show full of heavenly surprises. ★★★★☆
See Miss Lockwood Isn't Well in Glasgow and Edinburgh
Òran Mór, Glasgow, G12 8QX
Mon 23 - Sat 28 March 2026, 1pm
Tickets: 0141 357 6200 (option 4) or via playpiepint.com
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, EH1 2ED
Tue 31 - Sat 4 March 2026, 1pm
Tickets: traverse.co.uk
Also playing in Glasgow theatres this week:
The acclaimed UK tour of The Shawshank Redemption, starring Scottish actor Jow McFadden, is at the Theatre Royal: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/the-shawshank-redemption-cast
A new Scottish musical about Flora MacDonald is at The Pavilion: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/flora-musical-cast
The Tron has Medea, starring the brilliant Nicole Cooper: https://www.tron.co.uk/shows/medea/
And The Citz has international hit Flight - which was created in Glasgow but has never played here, until now! - where audience members sit in personal booths. Find out more here: https://citz.co.uk/whats-on/flight/
Comments