Brian Cox plays John Rebus in National Theatre of Scotland short
David Farnor | On 31, May 2020
Brian Cox has brought John Rebus back in a new short for the National Theatre of Scotland.
Ian Rankin’s detective is no stranger to screens, having been portrayed by Ken Stott and John Hannah. Now, the Succession star Brian Cox has stepped into the world-weary shoes of the irascible detective inspector in The Lockdown Blues.
Written by Rankin and directed by Cora Bissett, it sees Rebus weeks into lockdown and imprisoned at home, his only distant link to the outside world coming through infrequent visits from his long-standing colleague Siobhan. The ageing Inspector Rebus reflects on his bizarre solitary confinement.
The short film, which is available to stream for free on YouTube and BBC iPlayer, is produced by National Theatre of Scotland, in association with BBC Scotland, Screen Scotland, BBC Arts’ Culture in Quarantine project with support from Hopscotch Films.
It is part of Scenes for Survival, created by the National Theatre of Scotland in association with Scotland’s leading theatre venues and companies. The Scenes for Survival Hardship Fund is a fundraising campaign to raise money for those in the sector who have been hardest hit financially and are experiencing drastic economic and emotional hardship.
Other shorts include Alone, written and performed by Janey Godley, directed by Caitlin Skinner, The Present, from playwright Stef Smith and starring Moyo Akande, Clearing, written by Morna Pearson, directed by Cameron Mowat and performed by Ashleigh More, Isolation, written by Jenni Fagan and performed by Kate Dickie, and A Mug’s Game, an extra from Frances Poet’s play Fibres starring Jonathan Watson.
The first six shorts were released on 27th May, with 40 in total. They will be released Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9pm at bbc.co.uk/scenesforsurvival and on the BBC Scotland YouTube channel.