Last Christmas--Traverse

I haven't even got through the door, when I hear them.
They're all 'Wassup!'
That's home all over, really. Embarrassingly, tragically unhip.
There's not a sniff of irony about them – they are actually 10 years out of touch. Read more …

The office Christmas party is in full swing. Glitter abounds, cheap booze is being necked and someone’s trying to crash the DJ booth. It’s the high point of the year.

Tom would rather be anywhere else on earth.

Reeling from unexpected events in his personal life, Tom can’t avoid returning home for Christmas – and all that he’s left behind. The directionless old friends, his fragile mother, even the sticky pub carpet. Nothing seems to have changed, but everything has.

Forced to confront the demons he’s been running from, it’s time for Tom to face his family and his future head-on.

The critical consensus

Stripped back to an actor in an empty space, Matthew Bulgo’s ‘Last Christmas’ explores the gaping holes we all live with and through in darkly comedic ways.

(*) (*) Bill Dunlop, Edinburgh Guide, 14/12/2016

This sparse hour of one-man Fringe theatre might not feel very Christmassy, but by the end, you can only wish its central character peace and goodwill.

(*) (*) Robert Peacock, TVBomb, 14/12/2016

This is a clever, heartfelt and well performed piece that will leave audiences with a suitably festive glow – albeit one tinged with Celtic melancholy.

(*) (*) Hugh Simpson, All Edinburgh Theatre, 14/12/2016

Out of such a gently tragi-comic scenario comes a tender portrayal of one man's coming to terms with his lot in a vividly written piece of confessional fiction.

(*) Neil Cooper, Coffee-Table Notes, 14/12/2016

Last Christmas may not be standard feel-good Christmas fare, but it has enough of a touch of It’s A Wonderful Life about it to be worth a Yuletide watch.

(*) (*) Ben Reiss, Plays to See, 16/12/2016

An apt tale for any time of the year, but especially Christmas.

(*) Paul F Cockburn, Broadway Baby, 18/12/2016