Shooting Fish Theatre are bringing their new historical play, The Spy Network, to the Edinburgh Fringe, drawing on the story of Mary, Queen of Scots.
“On the morning of February 8, 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots enters the great hall where she’ll soon be executed for treason. There she meets Barnaby Fulke, an enigmatic actor sent to provide merriment before the chop. With one last chance to set the record straight, Mary stages her story, revisiting the spies, secrets and betrayals that sealed her fate. Secret codes, espionage and treason propel this gripping three-hander through Scotland’s turbulent past. But history isn’t always written until the last act and in the life of Mary, there is still one final scene left to play.”
Where: Thistle Theatre at Greenside @ Riddles Court
When: 17-24 Aug (not 23)
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-spy-network
What can you tell us about your show? What is it about and where did the idea come from?
Our show explores the circumstances that led to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. Although there have been many re-imaginings of her life, none look in any real detail at the circumstances in which she was incriminated. This is that story the ‘Babington Plot’: the intricate network of spies, entrapment, double-crossing, and poor choices that delivered her to the chopping block.
The play is set the night before her execution, so it’s full of tension around this looming event. It’s exciting to explore the concept of what someone would do or how they would behave knowing they only have hours to live. Ultimately, this gives the character license to tell her story and speak her truth; at this point, she has nothing left to lose.
The play was developed in quite a special way. As a company, we have a strong focus on collaborative new writing, and this production began life as part of one of our literacy projects. In 2025, we worked with disadvantaged young people aged 16 to 18 living in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. This is an extremely deprived area, and the young people we work with have very little opportunity to participate in the arts. Many have really struggled at school, have mental health difficulties, and/or turbulent home lives. We work with young people and professional theatre makers over eight months to co-write and co-produce a new play that is then performed by professional actors and staged at the local theatre.
The project is designed to build literacy, soft skills and confidence for participants, but I think the best thing about it is that it gives them a voice. They can make a play about absolutely anything. It happened that year that we had one young person who had an insatiable interest in history, and he proposed to the rest of the group that the play should be about Mary, Queen of Scots. He was so passionate that the rest of the group really got on board with his suggestion, and so here we are.
There was a lot of discussion in development sessions around history and its authenticity: What sources are reliable? From whose perspective is the information being presented? And given the historical timeframe, how reliable is it? This was an element we were really able to play with; both the professional team and the young people enjoyed examining the evidence, unearthing and speculating on the information gaps, and navigating our story around them. What we’ve arrived at is a wonderfully rich piece, truly embedded in historical fact but with its own twist that is both extremely enjoyable and entirely plausible.
How would you sell it to audiences in one paragraph?
I’d say that this is a pure theatrical experience: an incredibly interesting and powerful story, fantastic writing, lots of lovely theatrical techniques, fabulous costumes and superb acting. It’s fast-paced, exciting, challenging, surprising, funny, and moving. It is absolutely everything you can wish for in a play.
Do you enjoy participating in the Fringe? And do you have any moments you particularly remember?
As a company, this is actually our first Fringe experience. I’ve been many times as an audience member and a very long time ago, as an actor. The things I remember most from those experiences are just feeling the excitement and buzz of the city. This huge monster of creativity, it’s incredibly powerful. The whole company is stupidly excited about being part of that. We have no real idea of what might happen, and that’s very invigorating, as well as a little terrifying.
What are you looking forward to the most in Edinburgh?
We’re really looking forward to testing our work on new audiences, meeting other artists and being inspired by work from around the world. I don’t feel like there is anywhere else where you can be completely immersed in culture like you can at the Fringe—that’s a very powerful pull.
The other thing that’s hugely exciting for us is having the opportunity to perform the work in a place that has such important and strong historical connections to our story. Edinburgh was a dramatic epicentre for Mary Stuart’s personal and political life. She lived in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, sought refuge in Edinburgh Castle, and was processed up the Royal Mile. Riddle’s Court, where we are performing, even housed a banquet for her son, King James VI. So it feels absolutely apt and slightly magical to be part of the festival with this particular play.
What’s next for the show?
Our plan is to tour the play in 2027, so we’ll be using the Fringe as a launchpad for that—testing and refining the work, speaking to venue programmers and obtaining reviews. We will be utilising every moment of the Fringe to build a strong profile around the work and to give it the best chance of a life beyond the Fringe.