EDINBURGH 2023: Review: THE COLLIE'S SHED, Gilded Balloon

The Collie's Shed is a play by Shelley Middler about four retired ex-miners reflecting on the strikes in the 1980s.

Tom and Billy are working away in the collie's shed when Glen returns to the area after 30 years. The men worked together back in the mining days but there is a tension when Glen enters. The men find out there is going to be a independent review of the way the policing was handled during the miners strike. They don't all agree that this is a good thing but some are keen to receive a pardon. Charlie is an older gentlemen in the shed and again there is friction because Charlie and Glen made the decision to cross the picket lines as they had families to feed.

The timeline jumps back to the strike days and a different cast play the men in their younger days. Billy is full of ambition and rage, he's desperate to get out of East Lothian and explore Canada. It's interesting to see the different turns their lives have taken.

This is a little gem of a play, the acting is excellent and the hour flies past. It feels depressingly unusual but refreshing to see men talking so openly about their feelings and there are a lot of twists in the script.

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