Review: THE GREAT REPLACEMENT, Oran Mor

The Great Replacement by Uma Nada-Rajah is the penultimate show in the A Play, A Pie and A Pint Spring/Summer season. It is Directed by Jemima Levick and stars Adam Buksh, Hannah Donaldson and Irene Macdougall. 

Fi (Macdougall) and her daughter Lu (Donaldson) have never quite seen eye to eye. As she gets older, Fi becomes more isolated and starts to delve into online conspiracy theories that oppose Lu's own views. Lu has come to tell her mother some exciting news, her and her non-binary partner are planning on having a baby. Fi tries to play it cool but isn't always tactful with her response.

Lu informs her mother that her friend Kai will be the sperm donor and he comes to meet Fi. She's pleasant but asks him where he's from. He replies 'Paisley!'. The audience know what's coming. 'But where are you from from?' and he tells her that his parents moved to Scotland from Pakistan. Lu is horrified but not overly surprised by the questions her mother asks. The same applies when she starts describing the theories she's been reading about the great replacement- other races are planning to 'replace' white people. It's cringeworthy and written with great humour.

All three actors give an excellent performance and work well together. It's sharp and witty and all too relevant as an older woman spending much of her time alone gets a bit too invested in things she reads online. 

The Great Replacement now runs at:

Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling: 29 June – 1 July
Pitlochry Festival Theatre: 3-8 July

Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan 

To post a comment, you must register and login.