I’ve never been to a glitzy opening night on Broadway or in London’s West End, so I can only imagine what they’re like. But after attending Friday’s world premiere performance of Wild Rose at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, I feel I’ve now experienced a near-as-dammit equivalent to red carpet event on the Great White Way.

To say there has been a bit of a buzz about this production is a massive understatement. The ether has been thrumming for months, and the run was extended before it had even begun. How’s that for confidence?

Based on the award-winning 2018 film of the same name, and adapted for the stage from her own screenplay by Scottish writer Nicole Taylor, it is directed by John Tiffany. He’s best known in these parts for bringing Black Watch to the stage (and for helping put the National Theatre of Scotland on the map), though to much of the rest of the world he’s more famous for directing theatrical smash Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. Seven years on from its opening night bash, it’s still running in the West End and on Broadway.

Will Wild Rose go on to comparable highs? It might. Doubtless a few cynics will pass off the instant unanimous acclaim the actors received when the curtain fell to a recently-observed phenomenon dubbed ‘ovation inflation’. This refers to the habit of frantically applauding even mediocre performances.........

© Herald Scotland