Stimulus 3
‘Tam o’ Shanter’
‘Tam o’ Shanter’
Now, wha this tale o’ truth shall read,
Ilk man, and mother’s son, take heed:
Whene’er to drink you are inclin’d,
Or cutty sarks rin in your mind,
Think! Ye may buy the joys o’er dear:
Remember Tam o’ Shanter’s mare.
‘Tam o’ Shanter’ (in a nutshell)
• Johnny and Tam in the pub drinking.
• Tam decides to take the shortcut home through
Alloway Kirk with his horse Meg.
• In the graveyard Tam sees the devil waking up the
dead.
• Witches, warlocks and the dead all dance Scottish
dances, the devil playing the bagpipes.
• Tam gets carried away and shouts out ‘Weel done cutty
sark’. They start to chase him.
• He jumps on his horse and tries to cross the bridge.
(Witches can’t cross running water.)
• One witch catches Meg’s tail and pulls it off.
In the pub
1. Set up the scene in the pub in a freeze-frame.
People drinking, laughing, etc.
2. Scottish music starts and the pub comes to life.
One person starts dancing and gets someone
else up. There is a knock-on effect until
everyone has joined in – follow the leader.
3. Form a circle and devise different moves. Use
Scottish dance moves for inspiration.
4. Closing time (music fades). Everyone leaves.
Johnny and Tam are last to go.
At Alloway Kirk
Look at the six quotations from the poem on the
resource sheet.
Task:
Create six tableaux showing the scene at the
graveyard.
(You should have a narrator reading out the
quotations to accompany the tableaux.)
In the graveyard
• Create a play about a group of children who
dare each other to stay in a graveyard until
midnight.
• Try to create a spooky mood and atmosphere.
Do they tell ghost stories?
Do some of them go missing?
Do they see some ghosts?
Do they hear strange noises?
Is someone playing tricks on them?
Alcohol abuse
• Alcohol abuse is the drinking of 21 units or more
a week for men and 14 units or more for women
(21 units = 8 pints lager).
• Alcohol abuse can lead to liver damage, brain
damage, increased risk of heart attacks, stomach
cancer and damage to the body’s nervous
system.
• Alcohol abuse can also be responsible for
destroying relationships.
• It is associated with increases in crime, violence
and unemployment.
Features of a docu-drama
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Presenter
Panel of experts with information
Reconstructions
Interviews
Flashbacks
Studio audience – question and answer
session