Glasgow’s much-loved theatre tradition is heading to television as six acclaimed productions from Òran Mór’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint are set to be adapted for a new six-part BBC Scotland series. The project brings some of the most memorable short-form theatre productions to a wider television audience while highlighting the creativity and diversity of contemporary Scottish playwriting.
Based at Òran Mór at the top of Byres Road in Glasgow’s West End, A Play, A Pie and A Pint has developed a distinctive format that combines new theatre with a relaxed lunchtime experience. The productions traditionally present a new play of no more than an hour alongside a pie and a pint, creating an accessible way for audiences to experience original theatre.
Chic Murray: A Funny Place For A Window Opens the Series
The BBC Scotland series begins with Chic Murray: A Funny Place For A Window, written by Stuart Hepburn. The production stars Dave Anderson, Maureen Carr and Brian James O’Sullivan.
The play takes a musical and reflective approach to the life of comedian Chic Murray. Set on what is imagined as the final day of his life, the story looks back at the highs and lows of his career, exploring his achievements, personal struggles, triumphs and tragedies.
The television adaptation provides an opportunity for a wider audience to encounter a figure whose career occupies an important place in Scottish comedy and entertainment.
Toy Plastic Chicken Brings Black Comedy to Television
Another production selected for the BBC series is Toy Plastic Chicken, starring Neshla Caplan, David James Kirkwood and Anna Russell-Martin.
Written by Uma Nada-Rajah, the play centres on an unusual airport security incident involving a toy plastic chicken. What begins as an apparently absurd situation develops into an interrogation surrounding security, suspicion and domestic radicalisation.
The play uses dark comedy to explore themes of degradation, authority and revolt. Nada-Rajah, who also works as a nurse, has developed a body of theatre work that examines complex social and political ideas through unconventional storytelling.
Toy Plastic Chicken also represents an important television milestone for the playwright, as it will be her first work to be showcased on television.
A Respectable Widow Takes To Vulgarity Explores Unexpected Friendship
A Respectable Widow Takes To Vulgarity, starring Anne Kidd and Craig McLean, offers a very different perspective on relationships, grief and emotional expression.
Written by Douglas Maxwell, the play follows an elderly woman who has recently lost her husband. She forms an unexpected friendship with a young employee from her late husband’s company and begins exploring ways to express emotions that have remained suppressed for much of her life.
The production combines humour with an examination of grief, social expectations and personal freedom. Maxwell is an established playwright whose works include Yer Granny, Fever Dream: Southside and Mancub. His plays have been staged internationally, giving A Respectable Widow Takes To Vulgarity an opportunity to introduce his distinctive writing to television audiences once again.
Meat Market Mixes Comedy with Dark Ethical Questions
Meat Market stars Julie Duncanson, Robin Laing and Megan Shandley. The comic drama follows three strangers who meet late at night in a 24-hour gym to negotiate the sale of a human kidney.
The unusual premise creates a setting for comedy while raising questions about morality, desperation and the boundaries of ethical behaviour. The production is particularly notable as the first theatre play written by Chris Grady.
Grady has also developed experience in television and radio comedy, including work connected with BBC Radio Scotland’s Saddled, Scot Squad and River City. His background in comedy sketch writing is reflected in the sharp and unconventional approach of Meat Market.
Ring Road Examines Family, Age and Parenthood
The sixth production, Ring Road, stars Anita Vettesse and Gavin Jon Wright. The play focuses on Lisa, a forty-year-old woman experiencing a mid-life crisis and struggling with childlessness.
In an emotionally complicated turn, Lisa makes an extraordinary proposal to her brother-in-law: she asks him to father a baby for her. The situation creates an uncomfortable but thought-provoking examination of family relationships, parenthood, ageing and personal expectations.
Written by Anita Vettesse, Ring Road marks another significant step in her career as a playwright. Vettesse has worked on productions for television and radio, including River City and BBC Radio Drama, alongside her own theatre projects. Ring Road will be her first original work to be showcased on television.
A Play, A Pie and A Pint: A Glasgow Theatre Tradition
The BBC adaptation also draws attention to the wider significance of A Play, A Pie and A Pint. Founded by Colin Beattie and the late David MacLennan in 2004, the initiative was created around the idea of making theatre, literature, music and visual arts accessible to a broad audience.
Its format remains deliberately simple. A new play is presented at lunchtime, generally lasting no more than an hour, with audiences able to enjoy a pie and a pint alongside the performance. The combination has helped establish a distinctive relationship between performers, writers and regular theatre-goers.
Over the years, the initiative has become one of the UK’s major platforms for new theatrical writing, with dozens of new productions presented throughout the year. Its programming has also included popular adult pantomimes staged during the summer and winter seasons.
Supporting New Playwrights and New Ideas
One of the defining strengths of A Play, A Pie and A Pint is its commitment to new writing. The short production format allows playwrights to experiment with subjects, characters and storytelling approaches without requiring a traditional full-length theatre production.
That approach has helped create opportunities for both emerging and established writers. The six productions selected for the BBC series demonstrate the range of subjects explored through the initiative, from Scottish comedy and grief to airport security, organ trafficking, family relationships and the pressures surrounding parenthood.
The move from stage to television represents another chapter in the development of these productions. While the original A Play, A Pie and A Pint experience is rooted in the atmosphere of Òran Mór, the BBC series can introduce the stories to viewers who may never have attended a lunchtime theatre performance in Glasgow.
Òran Mór Continues Its Commitment to Accessible Theatre
Òran Mór’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint remains closely associated with the principle of accessible theatre. Its regular programme gives audiences the chance to see new work in a compact format, while writers and performers gain a platform for original productions.
The BBC Scotland series extends that philosophy beyond the theatre itself. By bringing selected productions to the small screen, the project gives these stories an opportunity to reach a broader Scottish and UK audience.
For Glasgow, the television series also provides recognition of a theatre initiative that has become an established part of the city’s cultural calendar. The partnership demonstrates how a locally based theatrical format can develop work with national broadcasting potential.
Upcoming Shows and Ticket Information
Audiences interested in experiencing A Play, A Pie and A Pint in its original theatre setting can explore upcoming productions and ticket information through Òran Mór.
The venue is located at the top of Byres Road in Glasgow’s West End, at G12 8QX. The programme continues the initiative’s long-standing focus on short, original plays presented as part of an accessible lunchtime theatre experience.
Box Office: boxoffice@oran-mor.co.uk | 0141 357 6200 (Option 4)
General Enquiries: info@playpiepint.com | 0141 378 3097
Venue: Òran Mór, Top of Byres Road, Glasgow, G12 8QX
The BBC Scotland adaptation of these six productions marks an important moment for A Play, A Pie and A Pint. What began as an innovative lunchtime theatre concept in Glasgow is now reaching television audiences, bringing distinctive Scottish stories, emerging voices and established theatrical talent to a much wider platform.
