Originally written by Derek Douglas as a play for students to perform in The Scottish Theatre and Music School, ‘And they played Shang-a-Lang’ is a laugh-out-loud comedy first performed in Edinburgh in November 2002. It has since been performed by over 300 actors across the country from Newcastle to Inverness and is being released on DVD on Monday August 11th.
It tells the hilarious and heart -warming coming-of-age story of a boy growing up in 1970’s Edinburgh. Over the course of an hour and a half, the narrator transports us through his memories of adolescent life, his first stumbling dealings with the opposite sex, first school disco and typical teenage interactions with his parents coming full circle to his first encounter with the death of a loved one. The show is full of fun, laughter and tears and interspersed with a liberal smattering of smash hits from the 70’s, including tracks from The Bay City Rollers, Queen, Abba and The Village People.
The play got its big break in 2012 when Richard Toogood of Alba Home Vision was attending the Edinburgh fringe festival and sitting in the audience of the Stand Comedy Club where it was playing. So impressed was Richard with the show that he decided he wanted to have it filmed for DVD release.
Fans of the show can catch it live at this year’s Fringe festival where it is returning for its third season. ‘And they played Shang-a-Lang’ will be playing from 13th-24th August at the Assembly Rooms. Tickets can be bought from the Edinburgh Fringe website.
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