The 80s Scottish cult classic ‘Restless Natives’ zooms onto the His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen stage from 21st-24 May 2025 and guess what? It is in the form of a musical!
Restless Natives tells the tale of two disenchanted young lads Will and Ronnie who are weary about their future prospects and unfulfilled lives in Edinburgh. Their lives take a turn when they decide to head for the Highlands on a motorbike to escape the dismal city life and become modern day highwaymen. Disguised with masks as the Wolf and Clown, they hold up tourist coaches with toy weapons from the joke shop.
This musical adaptation has a sprinkle of big tunes from the well loved Scottish Band ‘Big Country’ whose involvement on the film was tremendous, along with a well written original and heartfelt music by Tim Sutton and Ninian Dunnett.
In this well loved story Ronnie (Kyle Gardiner) and Will (Finlay McKillop) become modern day Robin Hoods who dash across Scotland littering out money to the less fortunate. Gardiner and McKillop’s portrayal of the much loved characters is one to be admired. The passion and warmth they bring to the characters makes them not only likeable but relatable. The chemistry and bond between the characters is a special one- you truly feel as if they have known each other forever. Each character balances the other out with Ronnie being the initiator and Will pushing on the brakes.
The story takes a turn when Will falls for Margot (Kirsty Maclaren), a coach tour guide and daughter of the local police inspector! Maclaren’s portrayal is one of spirited determination and sass. Her sweet and sincere vocals add a beautiful warmth to the production. The beloved Alan McHugh portrays Police Inspector Baird very differently from that seen in the film. He brings a caring but no nonsense approach to the role. Another stand out performance was that of Sarah Galbraith who portrays the larger than life character Brenda Bender straight out of the USA! Her wit and charm exudes on stage along with her very stunning country vocals! Harry Ward portrays two very different characters in this production-one being Will’s unfiltered and unapologetic father and the other being Nigel- a psychotic criminal! The humour and comedy timing that Ward brings is an absolute joy to watch! The strong ensemble cast brings light hearted humour and delightful harmonies to the fantastic musical score. Although at times the back to back score did affect the pace of the story and humour at times the whole cast did not lack the energy to drive this story forward.
The musical’s stage design by Becky Minto does lack in the film’s stunning views of the Highlands and therefore takes away from that feeling of uplifting freedom the lads feel on the open road. That being said I do feel the set is interesting and well designed- allowing a smooth change of setting in a matter of seconds.
Overall I truly admire Michael Hoffman and Ninian Dunnett’s take on this much loved cult classic- it is no easy feat to turn any film into a musical especially 40 years on! This charming story does not fail to tug at your heart strings and more importantly I feel it is the perfect love letter to Scotland. What more could a Scot ask for!
Restless Natives is running at HMT from the 22-24th May. Get your tickets here: https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/whats-on/restless-natives/
Theatre Scotland 
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