Contemporary Scottish Theatre
Introduction to the
course
Created by L McCarry
Contemporary Scottish Theatre
•In this part of the course you will read and learn
about a number of different plays.
•You will then study the plays and their relevance
to:
• Social, political and religious dimensions
• Use of history, nostalgia and popular tradition
• Issues of gender
• Current productions and issues.
Created by L McCarry
Contemporary Scottish Theatre
• You will have to write a CST essay in your exam,
which will be worth twenty marks.
• The study areas on the previous slide each offer
two questions in the exam paper. You have to
choose ONE question to answer.
• Choosing a question will depend on the type of
question and which plays you feel you can talk
about with most relevance to that area of study.
Created by L McCarry
Contemporary Scottish Theatre
• Some of the plays are very well suited to an area
of study, such as Men Should Weep and ‘Social,
Political and Religious Dimensions,’ it also lends
itself to ‘Issues of Gender,’ giving you lots of
examples from the play to discuss.
• The Steamie on the other hand can be used in
‘Social, Political and Religious Dimensions’ and
‘Issues of Gender’ but also lends itself well to
being discussed in ‘History, Nostalgia and Popular
Tradition.’
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Social, Political and Religious
Dimensions
• This area of study involves the exploration of some of these areas,
depending on the text:
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THOSE WITH A
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social background and conditions (this will be a main study for you)
nationalism
industrial relations and the workplace
political theatre as entertainment
distribution of wealth
relationship between the individual and the establishment
sectarianism
devices used to communicate social, political and religious messages.
WILL BE AN IMPORTANT AREA OF STUDY FOR YOU
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History, Nostalgia and Popular
Tradition
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This area of study involves the exploration of some of these areas, depending on
the text:
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historical accuracy
devices used to create a sense of period
myth and legend
growth and decline of industry
the sectarian divide
relationship between the individual and the Establishment
distribution of wealth
romanticism
devices used to create/generate nostalgia
use of Scottish song, music and dance
variety, pantomime and farce
satire
celebrations, rituals, social gatherings.
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Issues of Gender
• This area of study involves the exploration of some of
these areas, depending on the text:
• symbolic martyr
• romantic hero
• relationships relationship between the individual and
the Establishment
• marriage and the family
• women and power
• men and power
• sexual development of characters
• oppression/suffering
Created by L McCarry
Contemporary Scottish Theatre
Those lists are not
exhaustive and you
will look at other
areas within them
Created by L McCarry
Contemporary Scottish Theatre
The plays you will read to help you to prepare to
answer questions on those different areas of study
are:
Men Should Weep – Ena Lamont Stewart
The Steamie – Tony Roper
One Good Beating – Linda McLean
Tally’s Blood – Ann Marie Di Mambro
The Letterbox – Ann Marie Di Mambro
The Slab Boys – John Byrne
Created by L McCarry
Contemporary Scottish Theatre
You will also perform one acting
piece from a Contemporary
Scottish play. This should be
contrasting to you Set Text
character.
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Good Luck!
Created by L McCarry