Review: Wallace - a Scottish hip-hop musical | A Play, A Pie and A Pint, Oran Mor, Glasgow 2025

Name: Wallace
Brand: A Play, A Pie and A Pint
Rating: 4 (1 reviews)

Lisa in the theatre
48 minutes ago
4 min read

The 2025 autumn season at A Play, A Pie and a Pint kicks off with a hip hop musical about Braveheart legend William Wallace. The world premier of Wallace by Rob Drummond and Dave Hook runs at Òran Mór, Glasgow from 1 - 6 September before heading to Edinburgh.

Manasa Tagica in Wallace at A Play, A Pie and A Pint. Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan — Manasa Tagica in Wallace at A Play, A Pie and A Pint. Photo: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Wallace | A Play, A Pie and A Pint 2025 ★★★★☆

Review: 2 September 2025, Òran Mór, Glasgow

William Wallace was a Scottish hero. Or was he? Contemporary new musical by award-winning playwright Rob Drummond puts the Braveheart legend under the musical theatre microscope and asks if Wallace was a hero or just a lucky thug... and did he even exist at all.

Kicking off the 2025 autumn season at A Play, A Pie and a Pint at Òran Mór in Glasgow, Wallace is a brand-new hip-hop musical that brings William Wallace and key players from Scottish history roaring into the 21st century. It's inevitable that comparisons will be made with hip-hop musical phenomenon Hamilton which did the same for American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, and while Wallace can't compete with Lin Manuel Miranda's masterpiece in terms of budget and company size, it absolutely has its own story to tell and talented voices to do it with.

While hip hop and rap music has its roots in Black America, the Scots language and accent pairs brillianty with it. We are often told that we speak too fast in Scotland; well what better medium to make a point quickly than rap! Just like in the iconic Cabinet Battle scene in Hamilton, the three actors in Wallace participate in rap battles - throwing down their arguments about Wallace and his legend via passionate, feisty and rapid lyrics, all backed by Dave Hook's original hip-hop beats. I may be biased, but Scottish musical theatre rap sounds incredible!

Dave Hook - the acclaimed Scottish rapper and music producer from alternative hip hop group Stanley Odd - not only writes the music and lyrics for Wallace but he stars alongside actors Patricia Panther and Manasa Tagica. The talented trio play various roles, from Wallace himself to his love interest Marion, and Edward Longshanks, King of England. The performances are universally excellent, and Tagica's Longshanks - he of infamous quote "The trouble with Scotland is that it's full of Scots" - has one of the best songs and scenes in the entire show.

Rob Drummond's lively book races through Wallace's story from his birth to his gruesome death, but it goes even further and (again, sorry, but much like Hamilton) asks which stories are remembered. I'm not ashamed to say that I learnt a lot about Wallace's period of Scottish history and I don't think I was alone. I heard more than one whisper of "...that wasn't in Braveheart!"

The first 20 minutes of Wallace the musical are exhilarating, with spirited theatrical creativity on display coupled with solid songs, strong performances and playful comedy. However the initial energy does fizzle out a little as by the second half of the play things start to become a little formulaic with a heated argument about history followed by a song, then a heated argument about history followed by a song. The score too feels strongest in the first half of the show.

The outing for Wallace this week is its world premier and room for enhancement is to be expected. However Wallace is one of the most exciting, fresh new Scottish musicals I've seen at a Play, a Pie and A Pint in recent years. Bursting with potential, it's such a fun and inspired concept - it should go down a storm with Scottish audiences. This hopefully won't be the last we see of Wallace. ★★★★☆

Wallace plays at Oran Mor until Saturday 6th September 2025 and then transfers to the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. Find full dates & listings here

Rob Drummond said of Wallace:

“I’d been trying to work out how to present the story of William Wallace in a fresh, contemporary way for years. Then I heard Dave Hook’s music and it all became clear. Trust me when I say that William Wallace and Scottish rap are meant to be together.”

MORE: Find the full list of plays and more info about A Play, A Pie and a Pint's 2025 Autumn season here

MORE: Reviews from A Play, A Pie and A Pint productions on Lisa in the Theatre here

MORE: Scottish and UK Theatre news and reviews like this on Lisa in the Theatre here