Review: The Legend of Davie McKenzie | A Play, A Pie and A Pint
- Lisa in the theatre
- Mar 4
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 5
The Legend of Davie McKenzie plays at Òran Mór, Glasgow this week and then transfers to the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, as part of A Play, A Pie and A Pint’s Spring 2026 season. Read my review of this excellent dark comedy play below.
The Legend of Davie McKenzie | A Play, A Pie and A Pint ★★★★☆
Review: 3 March 2026 | Òran Mór, Glasgow
The Legend of Davie McKenzie is the new play from the team behind last year's hit show Dancing Shoes. Writers Stephen Christopher and Graeme Smith return to 'A Play, a Pie and Pint' at Òran Mór this year with a work that similarly draws on their own extensive experience of working in Scotland's prisons and with drug users in the community.
The Legend of Davie McKenzie tells the story of two friends - Davie (Sean Connor) and Sean (Afton Moran) - who do everything together. Growing up in an underprivileged area with absent parents, the pair grew to depend on each other. They watched films together, learned how to navigate the mean streets together, and eventually became cellmates in prison together. It's a sad but fair depiction of young men from deprived communities who have everything stacked against them from the off.
The friends' lives have been enriched by the countless "American movies" they have watched together, and as kids, they would spend hours role-playing their fictional film heroes. So when Davie dies soon after he is released from prison, Sean sets out to rescue him from the indignity of a council funeral and aims to put on the biggest, best, most cinematic funeral that Scotland has ever seen.
As Davie's ghost directs the action from beyond the grave, Sean plots a Great Escape, but can he pull off a Mission Impossible?
Haunting and haunted
Christopher and Smith's fast-paced play shines a light on Scotland's drug crisis, but does so in a tender, darkly humorous way. So many clever movie references and well-timed theme songs pop up throughout Sean and Davie's story that it's a film lover's dream to try to spot them all. It's all perfectly directed to great comic effect; massive credit to the tech team who never missed a cue.
Like all the best buddy movies, Davie and Sean have a beautiful but complex bond. Davie is the gallus leader and Sean the more delicate follower; So when the confident one of the pair dies, it makes perfect sense that he would haunt the other and convince him to become an outlaw in order to give his story a better ending.
Directed by Jake Sleet, the perfectly cast Sean Connor and Afton Moran are exceptional in their roles. They are ably supported by Ruaraidh Murray, who plays all the other characters with great skill, affection and countless impressive accents. Designer Gillian Argo's stage cleverly invokes the sterile clang of prison doors and the foreboding loom of high-rise flats via simple wire structures. It's so effective.
The Legend of Davie McKenzie strikes an intelligent balance between a warm and funny, hugely entertaining piece of theatre, and a gritty story with characters grounded in harrowing circumstances. Davie and Sean are young men inspired by their favourite glossy films, but they're also imprisoned by their disadvantaged upbringing and volatile environment. It's beautifully tragic, and expertly handled.
Davie and Sean are a magnificent partnership, and I'd absolutely watch their film! There is an original and exciting idea and endless vision behind the dark comedy play that is The Legend of Davie McKenzie. With loads of scope for development, this one could (and should) go onwards and upwards. ★★★★☆
The Legend of Davie McKenzie performs 2-7 March at Òran Mór, Glasgow and 10-14 March at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh as part of A Play, A Pie and A Pint’s Spring 2026 season.
A Play, A Pie and A Pint at Òran Mór production, co-presented with Traverse Theatre
Òran Mór, Glasgow, G12 8QX
Mon 2 - Sat 7 March 2026, 1pm
Tickets: 0141 357 6200 (option 4) or via playpiepint.com
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, EH1 2ED
Tue 10 - Sat 14 March 2026, 1pm
Tickets: traverse.co.uk
MORE: Find out about all the exciting shows coming up in A Play, A Pie and A Pint's Spring 2026 season: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/play-pie-pint-spring-2026-shows
MORE: Also playing in Glasgow theatres this week:
Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the musical. Read my review here: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-the-musical-review
And another show led by a fabulous duo: Read my review of the Citizens Waiting for Godot here: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/waiting-for-godot-review-citz
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