Colquhoun and MacBryde

by John Patrick Byrne

A play which tells the true story of two Scots painters and lovers, Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde, whose careers took off with a bang, only to fizzle out again soon after.

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 1992

About the author

John Patrick Byrne was a Scottish playwright, screenwriter, artist and designer. He wrote The Slab Boys Trilogy, plays which explore working-class life in Scotland, and the TV dramas Tutti Frutti and Your Cheatin' Heart. Byrne was also a painter, printmaker and scenic designer.

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, rounded up.

So, I read this 33-year-old play, originally staged at the Royal Court Theatre, after reading The Two Roberts, Damian Barr's new novel on the same subject and becoming quite fascinated with their story. While this does cover the high points in their bio, it is also a bit disjointed, has far too many locations to stage effectively (unless one just uses suggestions of each), and ends rather abruptly.

Doubt there would be ANY interest in mounting a revival at this juncture, although it WAS done a decade ago (see reviews below). But I did enjoy reading it, nevertheless. Anyone interested can read it for free here: https://archive.org/details/colquhoun...

https://qmunicatemagazine.co.uk/2014/...
https://theweereview.com/review/colqu...
https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-cul...