Review: Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil, Edinburgh Royal Lyceum Theatre

Gary McNair's warm-hearted stage adaptation of Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil features music by Deacon Blue's Ricky Ross. It runs at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh until 23 May. Read my review below.

"The theatre x football crossover I didn't know I needed!"

Dawn Steele in Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil. Photo: Aly Wright

Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil play ★★★★☆

Review: 13 May 2026 | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil is the story of Sally (Dawn Steele), who, despite having a high-pressure job at a law firm in London, finds herself a world away, at a terrible football game in Scotland.

When her dad (Barrie Hunter) dies, Sally must return home to Cowdenbeath in west Fife, Scotland. After the funeral, she plans to stick around just long enough to attend the next home game of his beloved local football club, Cowdenbeath F.C., where she will scatter his ashes in the centre circle of the football pitch, in accordance with his last request.

But as Sally finds herself reminiscing about growing up in a town shaped by its coal-mining heritage - the Black Diamonds of the title - and navigating the eccentric characters in her dad's life, she discovers there's a catch...

It turns out that her dad's dying wish was to have his ashes scattered on the pitch at Central Park after his team WINS a home game. And that may take some time when the team in question is the affectionately named 'Blue Brazil' - Cowdenbeath F.C.

Barrie Hunter in Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil. Photo: Aly Wright

A love-letter to Cowdenbeath and to atrocious football teams everywhere

Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil is set during Cowdenbeath Football Club's disastrous 1992-93 season. Originally a novel by Ron Ferguson, first published in 1993, it proved so popular that it went on to become a podcast and now a play, adapted by Scottish writer/performer Gary McNair.

McNair has a gift for adapting established works as well as for creating his own, and his voice rings clear throughout this production. In Sally's playful breaking of the fourth wall, in the frequent outbursts of gallows humour, in the well-timed, uproarious scoreboard visuals, and in Sally's father's groan-inducing dad jokes.

In Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil, Ferguson and McNair give voice to the working-class supporters of atrocious football teams everywhere, and showcase the rich community spirit that thrives in places that don't have much else. It's a surprisingly emotional, relatable play.

I grew up in a town one hundred miles from, but with a similar coal-mining heritage to, Cowdenbeath. I felt this play deeply and personally. I could hear my dad's voice, and my extended family's upbeat defiance as their local team lost again. I could hear my husband's frustration, yet his unwavering loyalty to a not-always-brilliant Scottish football team. Like Sally's dad, it's their passion, their religion and their illness. One passed down through generations of supporters who turn up at cold, wet football grounds week in and week out because to not do so, is simply unthinkable.

A creative and skillful adaptation of a book for the stage

Directed by James Brining, this stage adaptation of Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil is practically a monologue. A monologue that Dawn Steele, at the heart of the show, delivers beautifully. Steele draws us into Sally's story with ease; her open, charismatic delivery and deadpan performance quickly warming the audience to her plight of having to endure Scottish football for longer than planned.

Yet Sally's story jumps back and forth between the present and the past so effortlessly, with superb support from Barrie Hunter as the dad, that the show never feels like a monologue. It's cleverly framed with perfectly timed interjections from her late father, as well as frequent musical interludes from Deacon Blue's Ricky Ross, who sits on stage, at his piano, commentating on the story through original, beautiful songs and playful lyrics. It's a creative, skillful adaptation of a book for the stage. It really works as a piece of live entertainment.

Ricky Ross and Dawn Steele in Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil. Photo: Aly Wright

To set expectations accordingly: Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil feels like fringe theatre or a studio theatre production. There are only 3 people on stage, and there's not much in the way of extra embellishments. But like Gary McNair's superb 'A Gamblers Guide to Dying' - which was a highlight of last year's Edinburgh Fringe - the absence of a large company or big budget staging doesn't matter and isn't missed here. It's the writing and the storytelling that shine in this warm-hearted production, buoyed by wonderful performances from all three players.

As someone with little interest in football, and practically zero knowledge of Cowdenbeath, I was enthralled for the entirety of this play, fascinated by the colourful history of the town, the well-researched and startling facts about the football club, and the joy that runs through this production that comes from the marrying of the two.

Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil will appeal to Scottish football fans as well as to theatre fans. I'm not sure that these two groups normally co-habit the same space, but it's the crossover I didn't know I needed! It's an enchanting play and a good night out, but more than anything, it's a love-letter to lower-league football, to the inescapable pull of family and of coming home. ★★★★☆

MORE: Read my 5* review of Sweat, playing at Edinburgh Lyceum 27 May - 13 June: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/sweat-lynn-nottage-review

MORE: Find the Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil Cast Announcement here: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/black-diamonds-blue-brazil-cast-news