An interactive, energetic new play from Fringe First winning writers Gary McNair and Kieran Hurley about playground violence, the myths of masculinity and the decision to step up or run.
Presented by a creative team of Fringe First winners (director, writers and producer), this playful, hilarious new play centres around Max, a normal-ish kid in a normal-ish town in Scotland. He spends his days daydreaming and hanging out with his weird wee pal Stevie Nimmo. When Max is called for his first square go, a fight by the school gates, it’s his own demons he must wrestle with first. Set in a rousing atmosphere in the round, this unmissable collaboration provokes discussion around what it means to be a man, how young men learn the rules of manhood and make sense of their place in the world.
Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair said: “Square Go is a play about two young boys in an average town in Scotland, facing up to and trying to make sense of the expectations put on them as men. Of course they fail, because these masculine ideals are impossible and violent and stupid – but they don’t know that yet. We’ve been knocking these characters around together for a while now and we both feel really fond of them, and are really excited about them having a chance to meet an audience. We’ve got an incredible team in Finn and Francesca and an amazing cast, and we couldn’t imagine a more perfect venue for the show than Paines Plough’s Roundabout. Having both done a fair few of our own shows at the fringe it’s nice to be back doing something together, as writers, and as mates.“
Kieran Hurley is a multi-award-winning writer, performer, and theatre-maker based in Glasgow whose work has been presented throughout the UK and internationally. Recent work includes A Six-Inch Layer of Topsoil and the Fact It Rains (Perth Theatre); Heads Up (Show And Tell); Rantin (NTS/ Arches); Chalk Farm (with AJ Taudevin, ThickSkin). Upcoming work includes Mouthpiece (Traverse / HighTide).
Kieran’s debut screenplay, an adaptation of his play Beats co-written with Brian Welsh who also directs, is currently in post-production with Ken Loach’s Sixteen Films and Steven Soderbergh attached as executive producer. The film is supported by BFI and Creative Scotland.
Gary McNair is a multi award-winning writer and performer from Glasgow who aims to challenge and entertain in equal measure. His last four Edinburgh Festival shows have been at the Traverse theatre and have all completely sold out. They are Donald Robertson is Not a Stand Up Comedian, A Gambler’s Guide To Dying, Letters To Morrissey and Locker Room Talk. He has twice won the coveted Scotsman Fringe First Award and has toured the world with his plays. His work has also been translated into multiple languages including Italian, Arabic and Japanese.
Written by Kieran Hurley (Fringe First winner: Heads Up) and Gary McNair (Fringe First winner: Letters to Morrissey, A Gambler’s Guide to Dying).
Directed by Finn Den Hertog (Fringe First winner: Lightboxes)
Performed by Scott Fletcher (Max) and Gavin Wright (Stevie)
Roundabout @ Summerhall, 4 – 26 August 2018
