The High Life Festival Theatre Edinburgh 7th April 2026 Review
The High Life the Musical is at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh this week (Tue 7 - Sat 11 April) and this show, with its all-star collective on stage and off stage, of some of the best-loved names in Scottish theatre, has been the one that so many people I know have been waiting for this year. Has it been worth the wait though? Well, judging from the audience reaction to most of it tonight, the answer to that question has to be a big yes for many people.
This show of course is based on the now iconic BBC Scotland series "The High Life" which first premiered in 1995 on BBC 2. Although the series only consisted of six, thirty minute episodes, this show, written by and starring Forbes Masson and Alan Cumming, with its very Scottish, often surreal humour, swiftly found a place in the hearts of many viewers, and re-runs of the show over the years have proved equally popular with new generations of audiences too.
I have to admit now in this review that I have never seen the television show, so tonight this was my first introduction to Air Scotia and its central characters - Sebastian Flight (Alan Cumming), Steve McCracken (Forbes Masson), Shona Spurtle (Siobhan Redmond) and Captain Hilary Duff (Patrick Ryecart). It was also my first introduction to this show’s many classic one liners, and of course the now iconic "Oh dearie me!"
Why it has taken so long for Air Scotia to fly again, or for a stage show to be made based upon it, only the creators can answer, but after more than 30 years, it has finally been done. If you are a fan of the original show, then this stage musical has everything - the original cast re-assembles, the same team working on the story, script and lyrics. Add into this the fact that Johnny McKnight has also joined this creative duo on this task, then this show really has the dream team onboard. This strength of creative talent is also continued with so many other people involved here, including director Andrew Panton.
This is a truly Scottish work of theatre and from the moment the curtain rises on this show and flight crew attendants Sebastian and Steve take to the stage, it is also a very traditional, and much-loved by audiences comedy show, full of classic one liners. When Alan Cumming and Forbes Mason are together on stage, it is clear that these are two entertainers who have not only held on to those old theatrical traditions of a great comedy duo, but also that here are two people who know each other so well that their timing is not only impeccable, but they know each other so well that each can just ad-lib around the main script whenever they want to and the other will simply follow on. Both know exactly how to inter-act with an audience too.
This show is set in the current time, everyone in the main cast is over 30 years older now and much of the humour and the lyrics of the songs are based around that fact. Some of the lines here are very funny, but also often bitter-sweet and sometimes painful. A lot of people in the audience tonight were of an age to have watched the original television show in the 1990s, so a lot of empathy in this room.
It is a long time since I have been at a show where the audience were laughing so much, having such a good time, and maybe re-living some old memories of this show from first time around. There was genuine warmth for this show, its characters, and the cast on stage tonight in the first half of this show, and that is a rare thing.
Having said all of the above, the best thing that can be said about Act 2, where the crew of Air Scotia are now in a different setting (I will not give the reason away, that will spoil the show for too many people), is that it does have a few funny moments, a few bright moments, particularly at the end, but for the most part it struggles to find that same level of connectivity with people that Act 1 had. This got a far more muted response from many people and that warmth was for the most part gone. Perhaps taking the Air Scotia crew out of their familiar setting had a lot to do with this?
On its own, Act 1 was a 5 star show, simply a master class in how to bring a show like this to the stage and entertain an audience. Act 2 was for me something very different, and this show has to be reviewed as a sum of its parts.
"The High Life" is co-produced by National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep Theatre in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts and Capital Theatres.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
This show of course is based on the now iconic BBC Scotland series "The High Life" which first premiered in 1995 on BBC 2. Although the series only consisted of six, thirty minute episodes, this show, written by and starring Forbes Masson and Alan Cumming, with its very Scottish, often surreal humour, swiftly found a place in the hearts of many viewers, and re-runs of the show over the years have proved equally popular with new generations of audiences too.
I have to admit now in this review that I have never seen the television show, so tonight this was my first introduction to Air Scotia and its central characters - Sebastian Flight (Alan Cumming), Steve McCracken (Forbes Masson), Shona Spurtle (Siobhan Redmond) and Captain Hilary Duff (Patrick Ryecart). It was also my first introduction to this show’s many classic one liners, and of course the now iconic "Oh dearie me!"
Why it has taken so long for Air Scotia to fly again, or for a stage show to be made based upon it, only the creators can answer, but after more than 30 years, it has finally been done. If you are a fan of the original show, then this stage musical has everything - the original cast re-assembles, the same team working on the story, script and lyrics. Add into this the fact that Johnny McKnight has also joined this creative duo on this task, then this show really has the dream team onboard. This strength of creative talent is also continued with so many other people involved here, including director Andrew Panton.
This is a truly Scottish work of theatre and from the moment the curtain rises on this show and flight crew attendants Sebastian and Steve take to the stage, it is also a very traditional, and much-loved by audiences comedy show, full of classic one liners. When Alan Cumming and Forbes Mason are together on stage, it is clear that these are two entertainers who have not only held on to those old theatrical traditions of a great comedy duo, but also that here are two people who know each other so well that their timing is not only impeccable, but they know each other so well that each can just ad-lib around the main script whenever they want to and the other will simply follow on. Both know exactly how to inter-act with an audience too.
This show is set in the current time, everyone in the main cast is over 30 years older now and much of the humour and the lyrics of the songs are based around that fact. Some of the lines here are very funny, but also often bitter-sweet and sometimes painful. A lot of people in the audience tonight were of an age to have watched the original television show in the 1990s, so a lot of empathy in this room.
It is a long time since I have been at a show where the audience were laughing so much, having such a good time, and maybe re-living some old memories of this show from first time around. There was genuine warmth for this show, its characters, and the cast on stage tonight in the first half of this show, and that is a rare thing.
Having said all of the above, the best thing that can be said about Act 2, where the crew of Air Scotia are now in a different setting (I will not give the reason away, that will spoil the show for too many people), is that it does have a few funny moments, a few bright moments, particularly at the end, but for the most part it struggles to find that same level of connectivity with people that Act 1 had. This got a far more muted response from many people and that warmth was for the most part gone. Perhaps taking the Air Scotia crew out of their familiar setting had a lot to do with this?
On its own, Act 1 was a 5 star show, simply a master class in how to bring a show like this to the stage and entertain an audience. Act 2 was for me something very different, and this show has to be reviewed as a sum of its parts.
"The High Life" is co-produced by National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep Theatre in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts and Capital Theatres.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com