Roz and Dylan used to live together. He arrives at her flat to pick up the last of his belongings. There is awkward small talk, stretched around the relationship they used to have. The clock winds back. We see Dylan offering Roz a painting – a name decorated with toys and flowers. They’re both jumpy with excitement about their soon-to-be-born baby. The metaphorical clock jumps again and we see them locked in one of those thankless arguments that neither party will win.

Shotgunned is a beautifully constructed, tight, and touching portrait of a relationship. They didn’t set out to get pregnant. Maybe this catapults the relationship into being something more than it otherwise would be. But it’s clear from the get go that there’s a terrible gaping hole between this couple. This is a spoiler but in the name of helping you avoid a potentially triggering topic, Roz has a miscarriage. And we see the flung together couple struggling to cope with all the things that are then unsaid.

There are two brilliant things about this production. The first is Matt Anderson‘s script. Carefully intersecting scenes mean you only see the complete picture when the story’s done. It’s a heavy topic but Anderson has a light touch, allowing the awfulness enough airtime and counterbalancing it with enough goofyness and flashes of joy (the glorious ‘Dance With U’ by Staring in Spaces) to see why this relationship worked.

The second thing is the acting. Lorna Panton and Fraser Allan Hogg give assured performances as the two young adults trying to find their way around the world, around each other and around this seismic thing they’ve experienced together. Hogg is just the right mix of endearing and infuriating as the man trying to make his way as an artist. Panton is the practical one, keeping their lives on track until it all gets too much for her.

Anderson’s staging makes great use of the compact space and light (Jack Read) and sound (Ella Catherall) help delineate the scenes. This is a touching, funny and heartfelt piece of theatre that takes on the messiness of modern life. Part of this year’s Made In Scotland showcase.

Shotgunned is at Studio Five at Assembly George Square Studios until Sun 30 Aug 2026