Jack MacGregor
@jmacr.bsky.social
890 followers 490 following 570 posts
playwright, director, highlander / messages from the deep represented by Brennan Artists
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I've created a Substack for my short fiction.

The Nightlands is free and all about creating a space for my weirder, more alternative writing that exists outside of theatre. Stories, strangeness, messages from the deep.

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The Nightlands | J M | Substack
A Substack dedicated to short fiction, charting the rise and fall of obscure figures in weird landscapes. Sometimes Scotland, sometimes not. Stay a while. Click to read The Nightlands, by J M, a Subst...
nightlands.substack.com
a beautiful night with beautiful people, celebrating Isla and Patrick, the happy couple 💛
been buying a bunch of new clothes for an overhaul of The Look for the first time in maybe 5 years? longer? i let everything stop in the pandemic and haven't exactly been in touch with my sense of self, many years of dysmorphia which has been really tough. but - excited to share my new looks!
Lost 5lbs! Great to see more progress.
Reposted by Jack MacGregor
This article reports that hundreds of scholars—"the vast majority" of those surveyed—say the US has moved into authoritarianism. It then gives equal space to a single outlier who says the source of the expert consensus is that those scholars "are coming from the political left." Incredible.
Hundreds of scholars say U.S. is swiftly heading toward authoritarianism
Most — but not all — political scientists are deeply troubled by the president's attempts to expand executive power, according to a national survey.
www.npr.org
evidence submitted: my love of theatre burns bright. it lights up my wee world. love little shows and being with my friends.
post show blues over. i love theatre again.
how lifes been feeling recently
Hope to bring something new to the Substack soon. Been busy with lots of stuff, not least of them being Our Brother, but hopefully will have a new story up soon.
they're probably making better use of it, let them keep it
There's a restaurant in Liège that has stolen its logo off the Liberal Democrats.
An abstract image of a bird in flight that is exactly the same as the UK Liberal Democrat party logo.
strange vibes on blusky. feels stuck in a state of relative inactivity, like an after school club that doesn't meet, or a well meaning but unfunded graduate theatre company that does one scratch night and then is heard of no more
Reposted by Jack MacGregor
the thing about optimo is it emerged out of, reflected, was part of the wider cultural scene in millenial glasgow. it and the visual arts scene, especially, orbited each other. that’s part of what made it like cbs or the hac. the other part was people *wanting* it to be.
Kelvingrove Park c2006, bleary-eyed in the daylight, a mate tells me "people say 'I wish I'd lived in Hacienda-era Manchester' or, 'imagine being around in CBGB-era New York'... fuck that! We live in Optimo-era Glasgow!" He was right.

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...
From disco to Slayer, a DJ set by Optimo’s JD Twitch made life feel full of wild possibility
By putting techno, punk, funk and more on an even footing, the Scottish DJ – who has died aged 57 – fearlessly united factions in underground music
www.theguardian.com
On Saturday we closed OUR BROTHER after a really brilliant run. Thanks to everyone who came to support us, we've had a tremendous response and hopefully it won't be the last time. Don't be a Stranger.
Reposted by Jack MacGregor
Saw this yesterday lunchtime @traversetheatre.bsky.social. Thoughtful, thought-provoking and horribly relevant. It's well worth your time. Runs until Saturday.
Spent my early Saturday afternoon watching @jmacr.bsky.social’s incredible new play, Our Brother. It’s a compelling and enduring story of utopia, dystopia, violence and the character of human memory and story telling as the crimes of the 20th century fade from human memory.
Reposted by Jack MacGregor
It feels as though we can start to talk about us now living through the biggest change to British politics for a century since the 1920s.
Westminster Voting Intention:

RFM: 34% (=)
LAB: 16% (-3)
CON: 16% (+1)
LDM: 13% (+1)
GRN: 12% (=)
SNP: 3% (+1)

Via @findoutnow.bsky.social, 17-18 Sep.
Changes w/ 10 Sep.
One of Scottish theatre's greatest patrons speaks. Thanks so much for coming Allan!
Really enjoyed @jmacr.bsky.social's Our Brother @traversetheatre.bsky.social in the @playpiepint.bsky.social season. A hard watch, based on Pol Pot's genocidal regime in 1970s Cambodia. Great performance by David Lee-Jones as the dictator, switching readily between amiability and cold ruthlessness.
I'll see you there, Allan!
Reposted by Jack MacGregor
I'll be @traversetheatre.bsky.social tomorrow for this week's @playpiepint.bsky.social presentation, Our Brother by @jmacr.bsky.social. Weirdly, I got an email from one of my London friends today, saying that cast member, David Lee-Jones, lives in the same London building as she does. Small world!
Hearts players wearing kramas. Hibs shouting Ho-Ho-Ho Chi Minh
SCOTLAND SPEAKS WITH ONE VOICE. NO HATE. NO PASSION. NO HEARTS. NO HIBS.

seriously though thank you Ewan and thank you everyone who came to support our final show in Glasgow before heading to the Traverse next week. Sold out show at Oran Mor. What a response! Electric.
Spent my early Saturday afternoon watching @jmacr.bsky.social’s incredible new play, Our Brother. It’s a compelling and enduring story of utopia, dystopia, violence and the character of human memory and story telling as the crimes of the 20th century fade from human memory.
Reposted by Jack MacGregor
At last! Attempting (and failing) to contain my excitement about this….
Beyond excited to reveal our first book of 2026. The psychological thriller, Original Sins, by award-winning writer, actor and playwright @flamingredhead.bsky.social
Sleep easy...
Reposted by Jack MacGregor
Ultra low budget day out to Dunoon. Soon after arrival, it began to rain heavily. Most indoor attractions seemingly close at 3pm.

But the local museum was friendly, and its mannequins cheered me up no end.
thanks Eve! hope you're good 🤠