Review: 549: SCOTS OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR, Tron Theatre

Opening in a pub in Prestonpans in the present day, four friends discuss life and politics over a pint. They have differing opinions about current issues and see some conflict over their views. A mysterious man appears in the pub and raises some questions, leading to the story about the men who made the journey to Spain to fight against fascism in 1936.

Presented by Wonderfools, 549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War is a play that mixes storytelling with songs. The descriptions of the war are verbatim accounts from the real George Watters. Watters, Bill Dickson, Jimmy Kempton and George Gilmour were four miners who set off from East Lothian to Spain to fight for their cause.

The strength of this play is the way it compares the issues the men faced all those days ago to the experiences people in working-class towns are having under our current government. Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse's writing doesn't downplay the sacrifices that these men made. The downside is that the run time of this play is around 1hr50mins with no interval and the story does start to drag a little at the midway point.

The cast are fantastic as they play the roles of both the 2022 and 1936 men. Rebekah Lumsden takes on the role of the pub landlady and delivers perhaps the most passionate monologue of the show.

While the pacing varies a bit throughout the play, 549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War has the bones of a great piece of theatre and ensures that an important story continues to be told.

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