National Theatre of Scotland

Press reviews

of The Miracle Man

There's a huge, ambitious and seriously Scottish energy about The Miracle Man that is downright seductive . . .

It's a tribute to the script's huge vitality that it supports a thrilling range of in-your-face performances, not only from a superbly bonkers Jimmy Chisholm as the eccentric headteacher Healy, but from Keith Fleming as Ozzy, Sally Reid as the nurse who becomes his love, and an unforgettable Charlene Boyd and Shabana Bakhsh, as two kids on the cusp of adulthood, in a world increasingly without waymarks, or even elementary common sense.
The Scotsman * * * *

This six-handed presentation from the National Theatre of Scotland is aimed at teenagers, but it's for everyone.

For all that this play attempts to sink itself into big subjects, it's unceasingly hilarious.

Keith Fleming plays [his] character to perfection, flitting between browbeaten despair and sweetly doomed optimism . . .Jimmy Chisholm's performance as Healy captures the manic spirit of Basil Fawlty and the profane invention of Malcolm Tucker . . . There are also some neat exchanges between Charlene Boyd's self-regarding Dawn and Shabana Bakhsh's shy but slowly emerging Fawziya.
The Independent * * * *

A look at life and death that's far from kids' stuff.

Rather than tapping into the dark side, among the play's underlying seriousness is an audacious and overloaded black comedy.
The Herald * * * *