Mayflies

Based on the novel by Andrew O’Hagan. Adapted and directed by Ben Harrison.

Based on the novel by Andrew O’Hagan.
Adapted and directed by Ben Harrison.

7th – 30th Aug 2026
Venue 320: Brown’s of Leith (Rear Warehouse)
5 – 6 Shore, Edinburgh EH6 6QS (Tower Street Entrance)
BSL interpreted performances: 8th, 13th & 29th. Captioned performances: 13th & 29th.

AWARDS

  • Winner:
    Scotsman Fringe First

  • Shortlisted:
    Scottish Theatre Awards on the Fringe

Grid Iron presented the world premiere of Mayflies, a site-specific adaptation of Andrew O’Hagan’s best selling novel for a completely sold-out run as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026.

Everyone has a Tully Dawson: the friend that defines your life. This tale of 80s youth and facing mortality in middle age is a joyous and heart-breaking elegy to the young people we still carry within us.

With an epic soundtrack forged straight from the heart of the 80s, a former metal works in Leith echoes the iconic venues of Manchester’s music scene, providing an ideal setting for this love letter to friendship, and a pledge: go at life differently.

Mayflies - poster

Production photography by Mihaela Bodlovic.

Video

Watch the June Carter Cash promo video, filmed by Laura McKay during Charlene’s research trip to Nashville, here…

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Programme

To read more information about the show, including the Director’s Note and team biographies, have a look through our production programme.

Rehearsal and production photography by Mihaela Bodlovic.

Or download our Mayflies Programme as a pdf here…

DOWNLOAD

DATES & VENUES

Venue 320
Brown’s of Leith – Rear Warehouse
4-6 Shore, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6QS

Preview – Aug 7–9 at 4pm
£25 (conc. £20)

Aug 10, 12–17, 19-24, 26-30 at 4pm
£30 (conc. £25)

Running time: 95 minutes

ACCESS PERFORMANCES

BSL Interpreted Performances:
Aug 8, 13, 29  

Captioned Performances:
Aug 19, 22

What The Press Said

“As the era Mayflies depicts is increasingly historicised, in the end, it is a dramatic love letter to that era’s spirit, when for the serious young men and dole queue intellectuals at the heart of its story, the possibilities were endless. As for the lost boys who are no longer around who the show honours, they live forever in books and records. Sometimes they are immortalised on stage and screen. Like this show, they should be cherished.”

“Andrew O’Hagan has created a story that will stand the test of time and become a classic of Scottish Literature.  When tackling a text so familiar and beloved by many, there is always a worry about doing it justice.  And Grid Iron managed to embody some of the novel’s most haunting and precious details seamlessly… The production makes amazing use of the environment… it’s a hauntingly beautiful production… Mayflies delivers the heart-breaking nature of O’Hagan’s work just perfectly.”

“Grid Iron grip us in the teeth of 1980s post-industrial Manchester in this exuberant, heart-splintering performance of Andrew O’Hagan’s novel… an effervescent, heart-splintering story of youth, counter culture, male friendship and mortality… Mayflies is another triumph from Grid Iron, full of life-affirming exuberance and an abiding commitment to place.”

“Mayflies offers an almost flawless evocation of O’Hagan’s beautifully told story about the gentler rhythms of male friendship, in an age when traditional masculinity is often viewed as toxic”

“beautifully crafted and nicely paced… The central fact of O’Hagan’s narrative is one of the greatest emotional conundrums any of us is likely to face (indeed – as the recent Holyrood vote on assisted dying attested – it has become an urgent political subject). It is a credit to Harrison, Grid Iron and the marvellous cast that this staging of Mayflies addresses it with such a sense of universal humanity.”

“propulsive and plangent… witty, riotous, infectiously nostalgic, piercingly poignant… Moving meditations on friendship and mortality swirl through the show… but so, too, do dozens of insightful, amusing observations about politics, music and more.”

“Consistently sparking conversation and bringing life and art to the disused, Hidden, or overlooked venues of Scotland, Grid Iron’s latest endeavour is a reminder of the strength and versatility in story-telling with site-specific theatre… Grid Iron delivers a poignant, memorable exploration of male friendships and loss in a reflective piece, one which leaves as much of a smile as it does a tear.”

“Director Ben Harrison layers theatrical devices into the already evocative space. Scaffolding along one wall becomes a DJ booth and a swimming pool… There are pop culture references that some members of the audience will enjoy discussing late into the night, but Mayflies is more than that. Harrison’s real achievement is to make a show that could be niche universal.”

“Theatrical novel adaptations are a strange beast. But it’s a pleasure to see a vast, life-spanning story with a huge, beating heart unfold in flesh and blood before you.”

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Cast

Jude Bain (Younger Tully)

Kieran Devine (Younger Noodles)

Paul McCole (Woodbine / Bike / Gigantic Guy / Pedestrian / Bouncer / DJ / Older Tibbs / Clogs / Hogg / Waiter / Receptionist)

Lucianne McEvoy (Mrs O’Connor/ Anna)

John McGeachie (Younger Limbo / Tibbs / Hogg / Clogs / Fergus / Matteo)

Graham Mackay-Bruce (Tully)

Matthew Pidgeon (Noodles)

Carmen Pieraccini (Barbara / Iona / Gemma)

Farrah Abbassy (Angie – video)

Nikki Runga (Steady McCalla – video)

Production Team

Based on the novel by:
Andrew O’Hagan

Adapted and directed by:
Ben Harrison

Assistant Director:
Anna Whealing

Produced by:
Judith Doherty

Dramaturg:
Douglas Maxwell

Soundtrack:
David Paul Jones

Set & Costume Design:
Jen McGinley

Lighting:
Simon Wilkinson

Video:
Lewis den Hertog

Movement Direction:
Vicki Manderson

Production Manager:
Fiona Fraser

Technical Manager:
Andy Gannon

Costume Supervisor:
Kathryn Weaving

Company Stage Manager:
Mickey Graham

Deputy Stage Manager:
Gillian Richards

Assistant Stage Manager:
Lauren Murison

Set & Costume Design Assistant:
Izzy Gough

Lighting Supervisor:
Sulie Wood

Sound Supervisor:
Tom Wilson

Video Supervisor:
Leo Wittwer

Sound & Video Technician:
Fraser Mackie

Front of House Team:
Jesse Lanchester, Morris Jeffries, Emma Reid, Lilah Watson

BSL Interpreters:
Paul Belmonte, Greg Colquhoun

BSL Consultant:
EJ Raymond

Captioning:
Christabel Anderson

Print Image:
Damian O’Hara

Print and Programme Design:
Emma Quinn

Rehearsal and Production Photography:
Mihaela Bodlovic

Website:
The 16k Design Works

View Our Programme

To read more information about the show, including the Writer’s and Director’s Note and team biographies, have a look through our production programme.

June Carter Cash - Programme
View Production Programme

Supporters

The production was kindly supported by the following…

Creative Scotland - logo
Made In Scotland - logo
#FringeMayflies

Future Touring

To discuss future touring opportunities, please contact Kayte Potter of Great Leap Forward: [email protected]

https://greatleapforward.co.uk

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