Michael Cox reviews ‘a theatrical embrace that’s joyful and fulfilling’.
Once is easy to dismiss. It’s slight—or indeed ‘twee’—and hardly bothers to attempt anything complex: the plot is minimal, the stakes low. The two protagonists don’t even have names: we follow ‘Guy’ and ‘Girl’ from a busking set on the streets of Dublin into a recording studio with dreams of…what: success, personal fulfilment, acclaim?
And yet, if you take Once on its own terms—the emotional—what unfolds is a theatrical embrace that’s joyful and fulfilling.
Based on the film from 2006, the production launches Alan Cumming’s inaugural season as artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Big changes are afoot—not only is the company now run by a world-acclaimed renaissance man but gone is the company’s repertoire system. What that means is that, instead of a set that has a two-hour window to be installed and dismantled and a cast juggling roles from multiple genres in their heads, this is allowed to settle over a month’s run.
Cumming has seemingly brought Broadway to Pitlochry. The original production’s director, John Tiffany, has staged the show using the Broadway and West End’s design. Which sounds grand, until you realise that Once’s original staging has far more in common with regional theatre via a single set and a limited ensemble (who double as the band).
But there is nothing ‘simple’ here. The ensemble starts onstage in a jam session as the audience comes in, and one has the choice of ‘joining in’ by walking onstage and buying drinks from the bar and being close to the music. It’s a nice touch—one that makes the following production feel like a ‘tale from the pub’ instead of grandiose production from the Great White Way.
‘Guy’ is tired of small returns from his busking and is still nursing a broken heart, so he decides to leave his guitar on the street and begins to walk away. Enter ‘Girl’, a Czech immigrant who not only convinces him to keep playing but encourages him to take musical risks, ending in a recording session of an album of his original music. Everyone agrees the music is great, but what will come from it: financially, personally and romantically?
Any musical centred on a ‘meet-cute’ requires a solid pair of actors, and Dylan Wood (Guy) and Lydia White (Girl) are both terrific—individually and together. They’re easy to root for, and while the ending gives a bittersweet conclusion, it does feel earned. The rest of the company each play crucial supporting roles central to Guy and Girl: parents, friends, roommates and a loan officer who has musical dreams. As an ensemble the company are excellent, resulting in a production that is constantly entertaining.
Which comes back to the production’s pull: surrender to its charms, and the musical is an emotional sucker punch—a beautiful celebration of the importance of culture and art: to a community, but also for the individual.
Once might not be filled with originality, but it is rich in emotion. It’s well staged, the cast are uniformly terrific in their acting and music skills, and it all comes together to tell a moving tale that might be inevitable but still knows how to make the heart sing.
Once performs at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 27 June 2026. For further details, go to their website.
Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
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