FringeReview Scotland 2026
Mind and Breathe
Mon Espoir Theatre
Genre: New Writing, Theatre
Venue: Duns Volunteer Hall
Festival: FringeReview Scotland
Low Down
Mind and Breathe, part of DunsPlayFest 2026, explores that perennial existential question : how do you know what’s reality and what is not? This entertaining and thought-provoking reflection on society, disability, arts and politics questions both individual and collective responsibilities and dares to imagine real change – for the better.
Review
“Mind and Breathe” (said as a single word) is one of those wonderful Scottish throwaway expressions designed to pull you up, make you pause, then think. Breathe, relax, refocus. Then you’ll be in the right frame of mind to appreciate and and reflect on the many themes explored here at the DunsPlayFest’s Volunteer Hall, hosting Lewis Teckkam’s impressive sequel to “Mind Full”, his debut play performed here last year.
Conscience, Memory, Imagination and Truth are curious. They’re not sure what is reality and what is not. Or what is the true meaning of life. As well as lots of other things, some related, some tangential, some incidental.
Concerned that they may be focusing on the wrong things, worrying about things over which they have no control, they fear becoming overly self-obsessed rather than just self-aware and, most importantly, aware of those around them. And just what’s it like living in a body that needs help with everything? Literally everything. Except thinking.
Mixing exquisitely timed staccato exchanges with nicely paced monologues, the quartet explore a myriad of the challenges and societal issues in our increasingly chaotic and conflicted world, and particularly those with the potential to adversely affect the younger end of the age demographic.
Whilst at times surreal and absurd, it’s firmly rooted in reality as Teckkam perceptively and continually asks questions that, frankly, shouldn’t be left to a quartet of young actors on a stage in the depths of the Scottish Borders to resolve, but should be the focus of those that we’ve elected to supposedly provide us with a supportive, safe environment in which to flourish.
Sure, the words pouring forth contain phrases and sayings that are commonplace, but they’re used in an intriguing fashion to expose dichotomies that we’re all struggling to resolve. Can we actually afford to deal with climate change? But what if we don’t? What does “equality, diversity and inclusivity” actually mean? It may be relevant, but is it ever attainable? Creativity surely needs no parameters. Yet “the system”, our system, both needs and sets parameters all the time. Resolve that one, please Mr POTUS.
Teckkam clearly has his finger on society’s pulse and sees theatre as a means of articulating concerns that he feels need exposing. Yet he’s also not afraid to challenge the traditional theatre narrative, that which dictates the story should be continuous, with a nice beginning, middle and end.
So he’s (bravely) broken Mind and Breathe into a series of what are ambitiously experimental fragments. It’s a risky approach, but one that works, most of the time. Side-bars exploring what constitutes a snowflake and the red line between being self-aware and becoming self-obsessed were two creative and very memorable excursions. So we’ll pass over one or two that generated quizzical looks from what had become a very attentive and engaged audience.
This is a show that has a lot to recommend it. The concept is brave. The writing is sharp, pithy, pulls no punches and hits the proverbial nail on the head. Again and again. Acting and characterisation from Dougal Fay (Imagination), Lukca Best (Intrusive), Struan Henderson (Memory) and Teckkam himself (Conscience) is spot on, their cut glass diction extracting every nuance from the words, ensuring nothing was lost in the cavernous auditorium. Cormack Thomas’s inventive, ethereal soundscape, which he performed live on stage, also added much to the atmosphere. And lighting and sound effects were supportive of the action unfolding before an audience that clearly “got” Teckkam’s message loud and clear.
But it’s the words that win. Teckkam’s a writer with a real talent for capturing serious issues succinctly, using dry as a desert humour to enhance the point he wants to make as he examines society, disability, politics and, yep, the performing arts themselves. Provocative and darkly funny, it’s a show that encourages its audience to imagine what real change could look like. Change for the better.
“There are plenty of reasons to be cheerful”, one of the quartet intones, “so focus on what you can do, not what you can’t.” And, in that vein, one of the things you should do, is seek out Mind Full (which will fuse together Teckkam’s shows from 2025/26) when it hits the Edinburgh Fringe later this year. Thoroughly recommended.
