Theatre review: Submarine Time Machine

Along the banks of the Forth & Clyde Canal, near the National Theatre of Scotland’s new home, something is stirring. There’s an old puffer costumed up like a home-made submarine; there are strange figures in period or science-fiction dress popping up and down on the towpath. And all along, from Speirs Wharf to Firhill, there are signs inviting us to pause and reflect on the rich, dramatic history of this stretch of water, once a thriving hub of Glasgow’s lost heavy industries, from the day in 1952 when two wee lads spotted a midget submarine surfacing, to Whisky Galore-like tales of rich cargoes lost and found in the canal.