Winnie The Pooh, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh ***

For decades now, the pain of working class men in the UK has been an unfashionable subject, particularly in politics. Marginalised and sometimes turned into hate-figures by the anti-trade-union politics of Thatcherism, and then largely abandoned by a Labour Party anxious to lose its “cloth cap image”, they then also often found themselves demonised as racist, sexist and homophobic; nor were those accusations always completely unfounded.

Yet behind all of that sound and fury, there remain millions of human stories of men who worked hard, often suffered severe health consequences, and almost always – given the pressures of male working-class culture – felt unable to talk about their pain and vulnerabilities; and it’s not surprising that the few theatre shows that fully acknowledge that story often win a huge and highly emotional popular response. Eilidh Loan’s terrific debut play Moorcroft – her first work as a stage writer and director, premiered at the Tron last year – brilliantly fulfils that role; and it’s both thrilling and moving to see it given a well-deserved revival this year, both at the Tron, and in a National Theatre of Scotland tour this autumn.

Moorcroft tells the story, loosely based on real life, of a small six-a-side football team launched by Loan’s father in the 1990s, to try to provide some sense of purpose and joy in lives otherwise defined by “shit jobs”, in a “shitty” west of Scotland town. In Loan’s play, the team encounters tragedy on an epic scale, as death claims three of their number within a few years; and yet as a piece of theatre, Moorcroft is anything but downbeat.

Instead, it fairly rages with energy, in a brilliantly choreographed 90 minutes of dialogue, movement and pulsing music (by Gary Cameron) that barely pauses for breath, in acknowledging all the damage done by a culture of toxic masculinity; but somehow also allows time for each member of the team to acknowledge the depth if his loss, and his grief. Loan’s achievement, as writer and director, is breathtaking; and it also depends, of course, on the huge skill and commitment of a terrific acting ensemble, led by a heart-rending Martin Docherty as Garry the coach, and also featuring unforgettable performances from Kyle Gardner, Jatinder Singh Randhawa, Dylan Wood, Bailey Newsome, Sean Connor and Santino Smith.

If Moorcroft is an outstanding example of the power of live theatre to enthral audiences, and tell untold stories, then the touring Disney production of Winnie the Pooh now on a visit to Scotland sometimes barely seems like live theatre at all. There are highly skilled and committed live performers there, of course; an adult cast of seven who both manipulate and voice the puppets representing Pooh bear and all his familiar friends, and the team of young performers who play Pooh’s owner and friend Christopher Robin.

Yet despite the gorgeous quality of the puppets – each one a near-perfect evocation of the characters of Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and the rest, all greeted with cries of joyful recognition from the audience – this Winnie the Pooh struggles to find a storytelling style that will command the audience’s attention. Perhaps it’s the intrusive backing soundtrack that slightly overwhelms the actors’ live voices, perhaps it’s the range of exaggerated accents that tend to obscure the meaning of the dialogue, perhaps it’s the simple absence of a narrator to keep the story on track; but one way or another, this Winnie the Pooh emerges as a gorgeous-looking show that offers plenty of visual treats for Pooh fans, without ever really finding its rhythm, as a piece of theatrical storytelling.

Moorcroft is at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, until 29 July, and on tour from 6 October until 4 November, see www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/events/moorcroft for details. Winnie the Pooh is now at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow, until 22 July.

Theatre reviews: Moorcroft | Winnie the Pooh