‘An electric performance of morality’
‘The Long Drop’ is a psychological black comedy written by Linda McLean and directed by Dominic Hill, based around the 2017 book of the same name by Denise Mina. The play follows William Watt (Keith Fleming) as he comes to grips with the murder of his family, which he has been accused of, and attempts to uncover the truth with the help of the shady Peter Manuel (Brian Vernel). Equal parts thrilling and comedic, ‘The Long Drop’ proves the courtroom and the theatre are not so far removed from each other.
The first act of the play is by far the most compelling. A gritty deep dive into Manuel and Watt, along with a revolving cast of shifty, complex characters (Andy Clark, George Drennan, Mary Gapinski, Robert Jack, and Martin Donaghy), the first act is incredibly written and masterfully directed. The audience’s inability to fully parse the ‘truth’ – if ‘the truth’ truly exists – created a tense, breathless atmosphere, as the characters stumbled over falsehoods and partial honesty. With the second half mostly taking place within a courtroom, and then circling back to the opening scene between two men watching the hanging of one character, the audience should feel unsettled. Rather, the themes that were so wonderfully drawn out and explored in the first half started to feel surface level. It was already apparent that truth and morality were constructed variously by the justice system and the powerful men who influence it. McLean’s play stands stronger without the didactic second act – however, this doesn’t detract entirely from the overall play, which remains a powerful piece of reflection on morality, justice, truth, and violence in all its forms.
The acting and directing proved especially striking. Fleming and Vernel together portray incredibly complex characters, at times hilarious, at others dark and vicious. The rotating cast of other characters, from judges to William Watt’s brother and his dead daughter, come together to create a play which leaves the audiences always uneasy. In particular, Vernel’s courtroom monologue in the second half was a fantastic unravelling of the self, a masterful blend of writing, acting and directing, as Peter Manuel tries to defend himself in front of the audience, who take on the role of the jury.
Hill’s directorial decision to have a microphone hanging from a descending wire centre stage was brilliant. At no point could the audience forget the stakes of the play given to them at the beginning – that, by the end, one character would hang for their crimes. Though the hanging was never shown, the swinging microphone used by various characters throughout the play remained a haunting reminder of the cost of justice.
As the final characters, working on death row, comment on the state of Glasgow and offer bleak comedic insight to the justice system, the audience is somewhat startled by the sudden conviction with which the plot is settled. What had started as a mystery veers into courtroom drama, easily resolved, if still unsettled. Despite the slightly jarring shift between acts, The Long Drop is an intensely compelling play that promises to stick in the Scottish theatrical psyche for years.
The Long Drop runs from the 6th to the 20th of June 2026 at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. Tickets can be purchased here.