Contemporary
Scottish Theatre
What is it all about?
Click on the logo to view
and extract of Black
Watch by Gregory Burke
 How long has there been a National Theatre of
Scotland?
 Just 3 years …
 Why? What is the History of Scottish Theatre?
 … ‘the history of a social institution with several
sometimes conflicting traditions. It is a history
which includes fairgrounds and pantomimes,
club theatres and opera houses, fit-up
companies and prestigious tours; which covers
great writers and dramatic hacks; which
encompasses periods of intense national pride
in the stage and periods when any mention of
Scottish drama was the cue for an embarrassed
silence; periods when theatre in Scots or about
Scotland only existed because of Englishmen
or the efforts of amateur actors, and periods
when Scotland had a vibrant, indigenous,
professional theatre culture.’
Alasdair Cameron
academic and critic
History
 Scotland banned theatrical
performances in 1214 (medieval period)
 The Catholic Church was not a fan of
drama – a mix of court performances,
pagan-derived folk plays, biblical
enactments and festive pageantry.
 Scotland’s literary ‘golden age’ of the
Renaissance period bore its share of
theatrical fruit, chief among it being Sir
David Lyndsay’s Ane Satyre of the Thrie
Estaitis, first performed before James V
in 1540. This play was a farcical,
satirical, and allegorical morality
play.
 Following the union, the Scottish court
moved to London.
 All theatrical ‘diversions’ were banned
throughout the British Isles in 1640 in lead
up to Civil War
 Parliamentary Union in 1707. Official
hostility and economic incapacitation
hampered theatre development in Scotland
 A slow general rise in theatre-going among
Britain’s leisured classes
 Allan Ramsay’s The Gentle Shepherd
 John Home’s Douglas opened at the Canongate
Theatre, Edinburgh, 14th December 1756
David Hume summed up his admiration
for Douglas by saying that his friend
possessed "the true theatric genius of
Shakespeare and Otway, refined from
the unhappy barbarism of the one and
licentiousness of the other."
‘Whaur’s yer Wullie Shakespeare noo?’
“The most famous piece of Scottish theatre criticism, immediate
and succinct, came from a member of the audience swept away
with enthusiasm for John Home's The Douglas. "Whaur's yer
Wullie Shakespeare noo?" yelled the eager theatregoer.
Shakespeare's plays have stood the test of time better than
Home's verse tragedy, but in 18th-century Scotland the jury was
still out. In keeping with the patriotic mood of the day, The
Douglas told the story of Young Norval, a soldier in the Scottish
army. When the secret nobility of his birth is revealed, he dies
protecting the honour of his long-lost mother, who herself dies
jumping off a castle tower.
The audience loved its nationalist tone and many were moved to
tears. There were those who disapproved of Home, a Church of
Scotland minister, writing a play at all, but the public was in
favour and it was the first sign that the religious censors were
losing their grip. The critic of the Caledonian Mercury called it
"one of the most perfect works of genius that any age has
produced".
Mark Fisher (Journalist)
Theatre Royal, Edinburgh
 The Theatre Royal was launched with a performance on
9 December 1767, an occasion commemorated in verse
by James Boswell. The foundation stone of its new
building was laid on 16 March 1768. Built in Shakespere
Square, an area at the east end of Princes Street, the
building was to be in use as a theatre for 90 years.
During that time, the theatre was at the centre of some of
the most important developments in Scottish cultural life.
 For the first 40 years of its life, the theatre made little
impact. Two centuries of Kirk opposition to the theatre, in
various degrees of severity, coupled with an intrusive
government censor, imposed major limitations on what
could be staged in Edinburgh.
 The arrival of Sir Walter Scott transformed the
situation. Scott was a patron and outspoken
friend of the drama and his historical novels
offered new possibilities for adaptation to the
theatre.
 A play that was unambiguously about the
modern political situation in Scotland would
have been heavily censored, but a play based
on a novel about the Jacobite risings could
escape censorship on the grounds that it was
just based on fiction. This allowed for the
possibility of a national drama that could reflect
on Scotland through the medium of literature.
Edinburgh's Theatre Royal at the
start of the 19th century
The Theatre Royal was
extremely important in the
revival of Scottish culture
during the 19th century, and is
often associated with popular
stage adaptations of novels
by Sir Walter Scott, such as
Rob Roy.
 The first theatre in Glasgow was built in
1764 on the present day site of Central
Station. But like many theatres it was
burnt down by self-righteous mobs.
Acting, especially for women, was
considered scandalous and thespians
often had to be escorted to and from the
venues.
Rise of Popular Tradition
 In the 1800s, during the Glasgow Fair, small
booths called 'Penny Geggies' staged short
plays and launched careers for stars like Will
Fyffe.
 Many permanent theatres, like the Britannia at
115 Trongate were reached by a stairway. It
was bought by the eccentric A.E. Pickard and
re-named the Panopticon - it is Glasgow's
oldest remaining theatre.
The Britannia founded in 1857
 The Britannia quickly became a popular place of amusement in the city
and 1500 people would cram themselves onto wooden benches for every
show.
The audience gained itself a
reputation for "leaving no turn
unstoned" and over the years
the stage saw performances
by such greats as Dan Leno,
Harry Lauder, Marie Loftus,
Charles Coburn, Harry
Champion, W. F. Frame and
of course, the debut of a
sixteen year old Stan Laurel
in 1906.
Essay on popular
entertainment
 Popular entertainment in nineteenth
century Glasgow:
background and context for The Waggle
o‘ the Kilt exhibition,
by Alasdair Cameron
20th Century Theatre
 Scottish drama was overshadowed by
London’s centuries-old pre-eminence as
a hub of the international theatre
industry.
 Ireland’s theatre was more highly
developed and provided a possible
model
Chronology – The Main Bits
 1904 - Abbey Theatre founded in Dublin
and seen as a possible model for a
Scottish National theatre
 1909 – Glasgow Repertory theatre
founded
 Scottish plays being produced in
London, English plays being produced in
Scotland
Click here for the full chronological development of 20th Century Theatre in Scotland
 1911 – J A Ferguson’s Campbell of Kilmohr
 1921 – Scottish National Players
 1926 – Scottish Community Drama Association
(by 1937, it has over 1000 members. Amateur
theatre predominates)
 1933 – Curtain Theatre opened
 1935 – Perth Theatre
 1939 – Dundee Rep
 1941 – Glasgow Unity
theatre
 1943 – Citizens Theatre
 1947 – Men Should Weep
(Unity)
 1947 – SNP revived
 1951 – Unity disbands
 1955 – 1957 – Long running debate over
the nature and future of Scottish theatre
 1963 – Traverse Theatre opens
 1969 - Giles Havergal takes over Citizens
 1973 – The Cheviot tour begins
 1978 – The Slab boys
 1981 – Scottish Theatre Company
 1988 – Steamie premiers at Mayfest
 1990 – Glasgow is European City of Culture
Current Situation
 Scotland achieved success through
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home-grown experiences and perspectives
an indigenous ‘voice’, in language or
performance style
expansive cosmopolitan technique,
subject-matter and artistic vision
Translations
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Playwrights - Liz Lochhead, Rona Munro,
Edwin Morgan and Hector MacMillan
Plays - Greek tragedy, Molière, Racine,
Rostand, Chekhov, Dario Fo and Lorca (!)
Commonplace combined with the epic
Vigour of Scottish performance traditions
Plays’ timeless concerns
Connections with themes of Scottish theatre
history.
Ambitious
 Successive currents in Scottish
playwriting have seen the sustained and
fruitful exploration of language, ‘voice’
and variously politicised forms of selfdefinition which evolved from McGrath’s
Cheviot.
 Despite poor funding, Scotland’s theatrical
infrastructure, at both a physical and an
organisational level, is generally well-developed
and relatively extensive for the country’s size.
 Edinburgh (with the Royal Lyceum), Perth and
Dundee form a strong core triumvirate of
repertory theatre, Dundee in particular having
built up an exceptional track-record since
establishing its resident ensemble company – the
sole such set-up in Scotland – in the late 1990s.
Traverse Theatre nurtures Scottish-based talent
– including such current stars as David Harrower,
Gregory Burke and David Greig.
 All of which underpins the widely-applauded decision to
create the National Theatre of Scotland not as a venuebased or company-based operation, but exclusively as a
commissioning body.
 With further support from the recently established
Playwrights' Studio Scotland, the NTS will, according to
former Scottish Arts Council Director James Boyle, ‘draw
on existing writing, acting, directing and technical talents
within Scottish theatre and Scottish companies to provide a
platform for Scottish drama, delivering high quality work,
bringing resulting 'National Theatre of Scotland”
productions to existing venues around the country,
increasing audiences in Scotland and achieving
international recognition for Scotland and its artists.’
 It’s no modest set of ambitions, but Scottish theatre in its
current state is collectively well placed to meet them.
Click on the link to see a trailer
 Black Watch by Gregory Burke
 The House of Barnarda Alba by Lorca
translated into Scots by Rona Munro