Review: You Won't Break My Soul - A Play, A Pie and A Pint

Name: You Won't Break My Soul
Brand: A Play, A Pie and A Pint
Rating: 3 (1 reviews)

Lisa in the theatre
4 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

JD Stewart's new comedy You Won't Break My Soul is now open at A Play, A Pie and A Pint at Oran Mor, Glasgow to coincide with Pride month.

Review: Oran Mor, Glasgow 10 June 2025

You Won't Break My Soul ★★★☆☆

Recovering from a breakup, Jordan (Jamie McKillop) invites an anonymous man to his flat for a hookup. But the man steals Jordan's prized Beyonce concert tickets on his way out the door. When a distraught Jordan tells best friend Russell (James Peake) that their dreams of seeing Queen Bey in concert at Murrayfield stadium have vanished, the pair team up with friend Sooz (Kaylah Copeland) to cook up a plan to get to the gig.

JD Stewart's new comedy play has a solid foundation. There's plenty of opportunity for Beyonce lore and iconic pop song snippets to be thrown into this production. But 'You Won't Break My Soul' does have an awkward start - it takes a few minutes for the play to warm up. The background silence for the first few minutes is uncomfortable.

The music clips, when they arrive, do brighten the atmosphere, and once the well-written dialogue starts to flow between Peake and McKillop, they bounce off each other brilliantly. The play has more than a few laugh-out-loud moments delivered sharply by the hard-working cast, and there's even room for some playful ad-libing. But there's a deeper story running beneath the hijinks as we learn why Jordan has given up performing as a Drag Queen.

The story is charming but entirely predictable as all roads point towards the touted final drag performance set in Glasgow's Delmonicas bar. Choreographed by local drag artist CJ Banks, the drag routine is a high energy, uplifting, crowd-pleasing way to end the lunchtime theatre show, and it's a joy to see McKillop show off his superb dance ability.

Jamie McKillop is achingly convincing as the troubled, tormented Jordan; and James Peake is outstanding as the flamboyant Russella Sparkle. The play is at its strongest when it focuses on the love and friendship between these two "lone wolf" gay BFFs.

Kaylah Copeland does her best with the other characters, but the Drag-King persona doesn't add anything, and the police station scene is odd. The rest of the story presented here is authentic, believable, thought-provoking even, and it does a great job of raising awareness of the discrimination that Drag Queens can face, so the YMCA-esque surreal police interaction, though amusing, doesn't fit tonally.

There is however loads to enjoy in this play with plenty of Beyonce lyrics and witty, catty remarks thrown about at lightning speed. Heather Grace Currie's lively set reveals itself gradually as the story progresses, and the drag performance really is a rousing finale.

A timely production to coincide with Pride month, You Won't Break My Soul is good, heart-warming fun. ★★★☆☆

Go early and enjoy the fabulous Beyonce pre-show playlist with your pie and pint!