What's happened
The Long Drop at the Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow, and The Corinthian at Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, explore Glasgow’s dark history. Adapted from Denise Mina’s novel, The Long Drop unravels a triple murder through the lens of whisky, law, and city memory, with powerful performances and striking design.
What's behind the headline?
Analysis
- The Long Drop foregrounds a notorious past to illuminate contemporary anxieties about crime, memory, and accountability in Glasgow.
- The production employs a cinematic noir mood to blur lines between pub, courtroom, and memory, creating a layered reading of truth.
- The Corinthian offers a micro-history that reframes 19th-century racism through performance, linking sport, empire, and social change.
- Both pieces rely on a mix of wit, tragedy, and atmosphere to pull readers into Glasgow’s moral geography.
Potential implications
- The works challenge audiences to confront uncomfortable histories without sensationalism.
- They may influence future Scottish theatre to blend historical case studies with current social questions.
- The productions underline the city’s ongoing debate about memory and justice.
How we got here
The Long Drop, adapted by Linda McLean, reimagines the Peter Manuel case against William Watt, set against Glasgow’s industrial history. The plays are staged by Dominic Hill with Keith Fleming and Brian Vernel leading strong ensembles; The Corinthian looks at Arthur Watson’s story as a counterpoint to race and memory in 19th-century Scotland.
Our analysis
The Scotsman: review by Joyce McMillan; The Guardian: review by Mark Fisher
Go deeper
- What does this say about Glasgow’s memory of crime?
- How do the stage designs affect your sense of justice?
- Will these plays change how audiences view historical investigations?
More on these topics
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Brian Vernel - British actor
Brian Vernel is a Scottish actor best known for his film role as Bala-Tik in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), as Odda the Younger in the TV series The Last Kingdom (2015), and Billy Wallace in British gangster series Gangs of London (2020-).
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Denise Mina - Scottish crime writer
Denise Mina is a Scottish crime writer and playwright. She has written the Garnethill trilogy and another three novels featuring the character Patricia "Paddy" Meehan, a Glasgow journalist.
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Peter Manuel - American-Scottish serial killer
Peter Thomas Anthony Manuel was a Scottish-American serial killer who was convicted of murdering seven people across Lanarkshire and southern Scotland between 1956 and his arrest in January 1958, and is believed to have murdered two more.