Review: Scatter - A Horror Play | Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025

Name: Scatter - A Horror Play
Brand: Patrick McPherson
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

Lisa in the theatre
Aug 18
3 min read

Award-winning performer Patrick McPherson debuts his first horror play at the Edinburgh Fringe. With the aim to write the scariest show of this year's festival, this reviewer believes he has unquestionably succeeded.

The quickest and easiest five stars I've given all fringe. Read my review below.

Scatter: A Horror Play ★★★★★

review: 16 August 2025 | Underbelly, Cowgate at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Scatter is a new genre of play for writer Patrick McPherson. An Edinburgh Fringe veteran with his comedy sketch duo Pear and the recipient of numerous "best theatre show" awards, Patrick returns to the Fringe this year to break new creative ground as a solo writer with horror play: Scatter.

Scatter is the kind of play I urge you not to read up on before seeing it. And I'm not going to say too much about the plot here. I personally walked into the dark, stone room (Iron Belly) within Underbelly's Cowgate venue, deep under the streets of Edinburgh with little idea of what I was about to experience. But as the story unfolded, I was stunned at how perfectly the play fit the space. It turns out that writer Patrick McPherson has spent two years developing this piece specifically for this creepy, atmospheric venue. Its bare stone walls and spooky dark corners the perfect setting for this genuinely unsettling tale.

Scatter is the story of a man who travels to a remote Welsh village to scatter his father's ashes but is unable to escape a horrifying legacy that awaits him. Experty directed by Jonny Harvey, Scatter: A Horror Play is a one-man play performed by Patrick McPherson but enhanced by so many expertly timed off stage sounds, voices and special effects that to call it 'a one-man fringe play' does not do justice to the innovative theatricality of it all.

The use of light and shade is exquisite, and when the audience are plunged into darkness, that darkness is complete and tangible. I have never witnessed an Edinburgh Fringe audience be so still and quiet: If they were anything like me, they were too frightened to breathe.

Blair Witch project meets Uncanny, and for theatre fans of 2:22 - A Ghost Story, Scatter is the best presented play I've seen at the Edinburgh Fringe, horror or otherwise. Before now I would've said that this level of technical theatre was impossible in a temporary fringe venue with minimal setup time and resources. But the ambition and payoff here is superb. Patrick himself is an incredible central performer: captivating and steadfast, he manages to remain calm and unflinching, and totally convincing while the horror unfolds around him.

Patrick McPherson had the aim to write the scariest show at the Edinburgh festival. Did he do that? Well I have never screamed out loud at the Edinburgh Fringe before, and I have now. Horrifying but impeccable storytelling, Scatter: A Horror play is the best kind of terrifyingly tense, pee-your pants fun you'll find at the fringe. Outstanding ★★★★★

Patrick McPherson said:

"I've been working on this particular piece for two years, specifically writing it for Iron Belly in Cowgate, to maximise the underground horror feel of that space. We're chucking everything at this: every type of tech, sound, lighting and surprise to try to break new ground for horror at the Fringe. In a sea of comedy shows and monologues, I hope our composer Sarah Spencer, our lighting designer Will Hayman and our director Jonny Harvey can welcome you into something genuinely terrifying".