Stars 4 ****
Previously performed a decade ago, A Gambler’s Guide to Dying returns for a tenth anniversary special run. Gary McNair brings an incredible tale of one man, a Scot, betting on the Auld Enemy winning the World Cup, then spinning those winnings out for decades after.
In 1966, while everyone in Scotland was bemoaning England’s victory at the World Cup Final, there was one man – Gary McNair’s grandfather – who was possibly the only Scot to share that joy. In a pub in the Gorbals, his coupon had come up and he’d won a fortune betting on England’s win.
Managing to escape with his life as the regulars in the pub decided to tan his hide and take away his slip, he cashed the winnings in, banked them, and spent the rest of his life spending the winnings at the bookies. When Gary was old enough – 16 was old enough, in Gorbals years – his granddad recruited him in the weekly punt. In 1998, his granddad was diagnosed with cancer. His response? To bet he would double his life chances from one month to two. When he won that he chased the next win – to get to one hundred years old. By then, the newspapers had got hold of the story and this Don Quixote of the Southside was front-page news.
For those of us who are Scottish and delight in football, the story of 1966 is an eye-roller, brought up every time England play…anybody, anywhere, at any time, in any part of the world, in any competition.
And so, McNair’s opening draws us all in. It’s a theatrical beginning. Gary’s grandad was, in character type, someone we all recognise. McNair tells his tale with great skill: it never falls into homage but remains an emotional rollercoaster, giving life lessons whilst also managing to demonstrate the naivete of a child and the aging of a man holding on to what’s dear to him. McNair is well versed in understanding where the nuances are, where the gaps should be, and how to take your audience with you.
The setting of a careworn living room provides a suitable and recognisable context – you could see the New Year parties of the 70s fitting in, and the Millennium party held on the eve of possible victory. Whether the bet was won or not isn’t the point: what it gave McNair’s grandad was a reason to live and continue to thrive. By the end, the presence of his grandpa is clearly with him: McNair skilfully brings it onstage with him.
The great life lesson was not the thrill of the chase, but in allowing the experience of life to be lived. In Scotland, everyone has a relative like McNair’s grandad: a raconteur. In the 60s, 70s and even into the 80s, we had family gatherings where everyone was called upon to do a party piece. The loss of that is something that is not overwhelmingly mourned here, but we get a glimpse into the way that things were and have ceased to be because we have become more civilised, or perhaps just less civil.
As a piece of theatre, A Gambler’s Guide to Dying works exceptionally well, though at times it meanders slightly. The audience is never lost, though, and the relationship between the two is well imagined; we are invested at all times. It’s clear that with any winnings, McNair’s grandad would have only done one thing, and like him, McNair took a gamble in bringing this back. At least this production looks like it was a sure thing.
A Gambler’s Guide to Dying is on at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, from 19th–24th August.
edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-gambler-s-guide-to-dying
Main Photo – Gary McNair in A Gambler’s Guide to Dying 2025. Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic
