THE EVENTS
DIRECTOR
“The unnerving relevance of David Greig’s The Events... finds renewed relevance (though did it ever truly ebb) at Cumbernauld Theatre under Jack Nurse’s methodical and exceptional direction, lifting the Wonder Fools production into an explosion of colour and voice in this luridly surreal, though very much grounded, production which lingers in the darkness long enough to come to perhaps understand the beasts which lurk there.”
My choir was Jesse and Mr. Aziz and Frank and Mrs Singh and Isaacand Sherrie and Corrine and Gisela and Kamal and….
That’s who it was.
Now it’s just me.
When Claire, a priest and choir leader, survives a mass shooting in her church, she embarks on a desperate search for answers that will ultimately bring her face to face with the attacker.
David Greig’s modern classic returns in a bold new staging by Wonder Fools in association with Cumbernauld Theatre. Featuring a live community choir, every performance becomes unique – powerful, uplifting, and rooted in the place where it is staged.
Described as “heartfelt and haunting” ★★★★ The Scotsman and “a play that demands to be seen” ★★★★ The Stage, The Events invites audiences to share in a story about resilience, forgiveness, and the extraordinary power of community to heal after tragedy.
Originally staged at Cumbernauld in October 2024, the production returned for a Scottish tour in spring 2026 at Dundee Rep, Tron Theatre, Traverse and Cumbernauld.
The Events, in a co-production by the Actors Touring Company, the Young Vic Theatre, Brageteatret and Schauspielhaus Wien, was first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on 4 August 2013.
★★★★★ “In this new staging, every element of Greig’s drama seems to come together in a shivering, grief-stricken perfection. The stacking-chairs design by Becky Minto, lit by Lizzie Powell, is as brilliant as ever. John Browne’s musical score is shudderingly powerful; and the Glasgow community choir, at the Tron, is simply magnificent – funny, tragic, musically eloquent. And Claire Lamont as Clare, and an astonishing Sam Stopford as every other character, deliver two leading performances that are almost beyond praise; in a great play for today that faces the worst, and still, in the end, finds the strength to keep singing. – The Scotsman
★★★★★ “An electrifying performance you will not forget” - Youngish Perspective
★★★★★ “Quietly devastating new staging” - Drama and Theatre Magazine
★★★★ “Demands to be seen…Nurse directs a difficult play beautifully” – The Stage
★★★★ “Wonderful performances” – The Herald
★★★★ “It will stay with me for a long time” – Lisa in the Theatre
★★★★ “A nerve-jangling production” – Across the Arts
★★★★ “Crafted with insight and boldness” – Corr Blimey
★★★★ “Reminds me just why that collaborative nature of the story and the source is better told with community within it more than on its side.” – FringeReview
Photo credits: Mihaela Bodlovic