John McCusker & Friends, Kings Place, London

 John McCusker has been a mainstay of the Scottish, and UK, folk scene for decades.  A key figure in several bands, an in demand producer, and a regular with Mark Knopfler's live band.  So it's no surprise that he has a great number of talented friends to draw on for this gig.

In addition to John, we also got Mike McGoldrick, Toby Shaer, Kris Drever, and Simin Thoumire.  Plus a variety of guests who came and went as the occasion demanded - Roddy Woomble, Kim Carnie, Jackie Oates, Sam Kelly.  So we had a strong linneup of top Scottish and English folk talent.

Greast sets, greart songs, great craic.  Effectively a brief reunion of supergroup Drever, McCusker, Woomble.  And some songs for the audience to join in on.  A perfect evening.

James V : Katherine, Eastgate Theatre, Peebles

This was a very different offering to the previous plays in series. They were full length plays, with complicated and impressive sets, dramatic costumes, big casts and star names. Playing to big audiences. Everything about #5 reverses those attributes. Minimalist set and costumes, a cast of four, playing six parts, a run time of less than ninety minutes, no big name star. And the titular king only features towards the end.

So a very different creature from what went before, and expectations need recalibrating. As before it does take it's starting point from real events. In this case the death of Scotland's first protestant martyr, Patrick Hamilton (Benjamin Osugo). But the story is centred on the impact of said death on his sister, Katherine (Catriona Faint), and her avoidance of the same fate as her sibling. This is where fiction takes over, as Katherine battles with her conscience, the social impact of her (female) lover (Alyth Ross), and the influence of the king, leading her to choose love and life over faith.

When I say the set was minimalist I mean there was one wooden bench, and little else. Costumes were sombre, with barely a nod to period. But the theatricality is still there. The early scenes, with preacher Patrick in full rant at times, felt overly polemical, but the drama took over and improved as things progressed. It picked up markedly during Katherine's trial and the intervention by the young king (Sean Connor), with his speech bringing threat and comedy and a sense of balance. And a strong ending to conclude.

There were several contemporary themes that resonated, as is usually the case from Rona Munro's pen. The conflict between ideologies, and love and humanity (with love winning out in this case). Societal dangers of clashing religious extremes. The casual corruption of power. All so familiar right now.

My initial sense was one of disappointment, but that was only because expectations were not being met. Recalibrated, and with the script delivering more as time passed, I enjoyed the experience. It might be the weakest of the James series to date (will there be a James VI?), but there's still plenty to entertain, and ponder over. Worth seeing.