Here John Cairney tells the Burns story with an exciting modern score. Original songs were commissioned from Scottish singer/composer, Geoff Davidson, to match the Cairney book and the result is a new look at an old concept: Burns - The Musical. It was given its first professional performances in a Scottish tour during 1988 and was repeated for a series of concert performances in Glasgow at the time of that city's being elected European City of Culture in 1990.

The story is strong. John Cairney knows it well, having performed it as a solo for a large part of his career, and Davidson's music is wonderfully tuneful. There are two good romantic singing leads, half-a-dozen principals, and a superb comedy character in 'Holy Willie' plus the whole chorus of villagers in the first act and society ladies and gentlemen in the second. Music is provided by a small string ensemble. All production rights rest with John Cairney and The Pennyfarthing Partnership.