As the curtain fell on Scottish Labour’s conference at Perth Concert Hall, supporters reflected on a performance which was a curious mix of pantomime and high drama.
The unlikely star of the weekend show was Kezia Dugdale.
Critics argued before the event that she was not suited to a lead role.
Even now, the more cynical will suggest it is not hard to be a stand out performer in a cast as lacking in star quality as Labour’s.
But her speech on Saturday hit all the right notes. If it was not an Oscar-winner, it would have had a good chance of a Bafta.
It had just enough policy to draw a clear line in the sand between her and her opponents.
Even her pitch – which lacks the bracing, guttural tone some would like – lent her a different air.
She sounded youthful, fresh and – some would suggest – quietly formidable.
Labour will be disappointed then that she has been upstaged by the improvised pantomime drama of Trident.
Even when Kezia was delivering her speech, there was very much a sense of “it’s behind you”.
Indeed, the party has now voted overwhelmingly in favour of not renewing the deterrent, putting it at odds with the UK party and their own party leader.
The dynamics of this change are complex – so complex, in fact, that party figures speaking after the decision seemed to have largely forgotten their lines. Or perhaps they were just no longer reading from the same script.
As the faithful filed out, there was a general sense that the performance had been better than expected when the ensemble was first put together less than three months ago.
It remains to be seen, however, whether it will be the star performance, or the improvised pantomime, voters will remember in May.