one4review | On 10, Aug 2026

This show has backstory, and unusually, it’s backstory that does in fact have bearing on the show and the performance: both actors – in a two-character play – presumably fully rehearsed, lines perfected and movements blocked – pulled out of the performance a week before debut. Leaving writer/director Raul Kohli to audition and cast new actors in less than a week. They’ve pulled a blinder.

The show has been re-classified as a WIP for the first week, and in this performance the actors retained the security of holding a script, but these are perhaps the only indicators that things aren’t as they should be. It’s sparsely staged, no supporting emotion-raising music, no clever lighting, no costume changes. The show is pared back and so success solely lies in the strength of the writing and the conviction of the performances.

And it all works. Buddha with a proper Glasgow accent is inspired; Jesus who learned English from English reality TV is brilliant. Their conversation is a fascinating meander through philosophy and points of theology, explored in the reality of lived examples rather than in the abstract. Despite having had the script for all of 48 hours, both actors bring us well-rounded embodiments, and they have chemistry like they’ve been doing it for years.

Religious knowledge isn’t necessary to follow the conversation, and it is – mostly – light-hearted, with the drama assigned to the characters rather than to the institutions and traditions they’ve come to be associated with. Still a work in progress – and perhaps more for the script than the acting: it feels that there’s more as could be developed here – but a worthwhile and engaging watch nonetheless.

Reviewed by Laura
Hoots @ Nicolson Square
Until 30th (not Weds)