Now in its third year, the Gateway Writing Festival is an initiative for early career writers — by pairing them with full creative teams, they produce a showcase of nine short shows, shown over the course of three nights. The festival sets out to spotlight “emerging and overlooked writers and helps them create the next big thing in Scottish theatre.” We had the privilege of seeing the first night of the festival at the Studio Theatre.
Snakes and Ladders, written by Jessica Clark and directed by Jessie Martin, is a spoken-word one-actor play surrounding the experiences of a teenager in foster care. Clark’s verse is lyrical, with rhymes that are natural and immerse us in her protagonist’s struggles and emotions. Hannah Mary Taylor’s delivery is captivating in its subtlety, showing great vulnerability and prompting the audience to become lost in experiences which are so often unexplored.
Power Pop Girls: A New Diva Religion—written by Ryan Lithgow and directed by Coco Schogler—is a warm, unpredictable romp, celebrating the pop divas who define generations. At times outrageous and always delightfully chronically online, we jump about witty reference-steeped humour from ’90s pop icons to Gen Z heroines. The actors make the most of the space, prancing about in full diva fashion and channelling the spirit of their much-loved icons. While the pacing drags somewhat later in the second half and the ending could be tied more succinctly, it is a glittery homage to the pop girls we see ourselves in, with some excellently sharp humour throughout.
The undeniable standout of the night, however, was This City, written by Dylan Mooney with Gwen M. Dolan. It represents the side of Edinburgh obscured by the glamour that attracts tourists, and the voiceless residents neglected in society and driven to criminality. The two-handed performance is undeniably strong, with the two seamlessly switching roles with a simple change in clothing item and demeanour. Max Agnew in particular morphs into a man grappling with telling his absent father about his boyfriend, a gloriously over-the-top mockery of American tourists enthralled by ‘Edinburg’ and ‘Princess Street’, or an aggressive, rambling racist.
While the final address to the audience could have been more powerful, the play is as polished as some of the best shows the Fringe has to offer, amplifying the voices of those failed and villainised by society. This City feels like a show ready made for Fringe 2026, and the creative team behind this show is absolute dynamite.
The people behind Gateway pride themselves on providing industry connections and opportunities to their upcoming playwrights. The exciting array of talent portrayed on Monday night shows immense promise and an exciting new generation of Scottish writing talent—these creatives are ones to watch.
Image by Janie Buist, @janiebuistphotography, provided as press material.