MARGARET SAVES SCOTLAND

ORAN MOR , GLASGOW

NINE-YEAR-OLD Margaret is on a mission to free Scotland and the fact that she’s from Yorkshire is not going to stop her.

It’s 1958 and Margaret falls in love after a family holiday to Loch Lomond opens her eyes to the bonnie country. Her obsession with William Wallace and Scottish history is thwarted by her dad, and she hurries her way to the border to inspire Scotland to rise up against her own people.

Sparky young Margaret is the creation of renowned crime writer Val McDermid. The play is a tribute to her late friend – called Margaret, obviously – and there’s not a dead body in sight.

In a cast of three, Toni Burgess shines as the handbag-sized nationalist, embodying the optimism of a young girl following her destiny. She plays the laughs that come with this fluently.

Her equally impressive acting partners, Simon Donaldson and Clare Waugh, slip in and out of character with ease and flit, switching between Scottish and Yorkshire accents, dropping humorous one-liners and some not so subtle tongue-in-cheek remarks.

“We don’t want any change in Scotland. We’re perfectly happy as we are,” quips Donaldson’s PC Ferguson, to much knowing laughter throughout audience. Margaret Saves Scotland is a joyous love letter to the people of Scotland, full of heart and genuine affection for the bold Margaret’s adopted country. HEATHER CARRICK ● At Oran Mor until tomorrow, then the Traverse, Edinburgh, from April 17-21 and Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, from April 24-28.