Athens of the north

"Edinburgh’s a village, eh. Villages’ dinny normally huvcastles, palaces and parliaments though. But we do. And in villages, everybody kens everybody. Whether ye like it or no."

Alan Rutland’s flat out driving and delivering at all hours of the day. His daughter Erin has the biggest day of her life in St Giles Cathedral. He’s determined to be there this time, though. At any cost.

Liam’s landed in Auld Reekie on a whim off the back of a holiday romance. As the ephemeral warmth of the south soon becomes the eternal frozen north, he debates whether he’s made the wrong decision at massive cost.

Maureen’s mind is not what it once was. She’s in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people and forgetting things. When a visitor arrives out of the blue to go for a walk, she learns it takes only one person to bring it all flooding back.

In a city becoming increasingly sanitised, gentrified and compromised, ‘Athens of The North’ is an episodic love letter to Edinburgh and her people written and performed by Edinburgh actor and LAMDA graduate Mark Hannah.

“For an hour, Hannah holds Court, or rather his characters do, in three flowing monologues, each a conversation in its own right with the audience.”

“As the hour passes, Hannah proves a beguiling storyteller and Athens of the North provides an intriguing snapshot of everyday life in the Capital, a snapshot of life the visitors do not see, nor do they want to.”

Ticket Information

Performance Dates: 26th - 28th January 2024

Tickets: £13

Time: 8.30pm