Anna Burnside reviews a production with ‘some delicious moments’.
Coral is getting married. Enter the hens, shots and spreadsheet at the ready. So far, so predictable. There’s a joke about Edinburgh that arrives at the same speed as the train pulling into Waverley.
Then, on the big night out, a new character enters the chat. Luna, Coral’s cousin, is a model-poet-human rights lawyer. An actual goddess.
Thanks to her celestial superpowers, the celebration of Coral’s impending nuptials pivots to a mission to prevent her from marrying a walking red flag.
Jade - Dani Heron as chief hen and the last to be convinced that there is no happy ever after for her bestie - is tremendous. She powers along, desperate to continue the pre-wedding shenanigans in the chihuahua cafe even after the rest of the party has stormed back to Glasgow. Her panto crowd work, comic timing and main character energy are all present and correct.
Laura Lovemore and Anna Russell-Martin also put in a shift. They take turns to swap into Coral. With a change of accent and reposition of her shoulders, Russell-Martin also becomes Luna. It’s a lot for a small cast to carry, and two sashes that adjust between bride-to-be and bridesmaid do a lot of the heavy lifting.
Hannan’s script captures the wedding-vision glasses that otherwise sensible young women can put on when a pal starts flashing a diamond. There are clever design details - a moon that’s revealed when Luna makes an appearance, light-up flower crowns to mock the evil groom’s disdain for fairy lights - in Gillian Argo’s set.
Laila Noble directs some delicious moments: a live photo montage, Heron explaining the best friend look, which will become an important plot point later on. But the combination of the slow start, constant character pivots and gear changes undermine what has the potential to develop into a mainstream banger.
The Hen Night performs at Oran Mor’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint until 13 June 2026. It then performs at Assembly Roxy from 17-21 June.
Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
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