‘The Steamie’
by Tony Roper
Sugar-coated, nostalgic,
sentimental but entertaining
Interview with Tony Roper
http://www.stv.tv?bcpid=45957155001&bctid=37338050001
Tony Roper was born in the Anderson district of Glasgow in
1941. Along with Phil Differ he wrote and starred as Rikki
Fulton in ‘Ricky and Me’, a play that portrayed the life of
Scottish actor and comedian, Ricky Fulton. His last project
was writing and directing ‘The Celts in Seville’ for Celtic FC,
which was an enormous success at the Pavilion Theatre
Glasgow. However, he is probably best known for his
portrayal of Jamesie Cotter in Rab C Nesbitt. Recently he was
made an honorary doctor of literature by The University of
Abertay in Dundee.
The STRANDS
 Social, Political and Religious
Dimensions
 Use of History, nostalgia and Popular
Tradition
 Issues of Gender
 Current Production and Issues
 Humour. Language and Characterisation
cross all the strands
Social, Political and Religious
Dimensions:
 social background and conditions
 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
Use of History, Nostalgia
and Popular Tradition:
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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
Issues of Gender:
 symbolic martyr
 romantic hero
 relationships
 relationship btw the individual and the Establishment
 marriage and the family
 women and power
 men and power
 sexual development of characters
 oppression/suffering
Other cross strand elements
 Common to all areas of study will
be the use of language, humour
and characterisation.
How are elements revealed?
 Story/narrative/plot
 Setting
 Characterisation
 Structure
 Title
 Costume/lighting/props/make up/sound
 Language
 Humour / Pathos
 Use of Stereotypes
 Use of irony, metaphor
 Form
 Nostalgia / familiarity
 Relationships
Social Issues Language and Dialect
Nostalgia
Humour
and
comedy
The Steamie
History
Issues of Gender
Popular Tradition
Click to jump to specific areas
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Setting
Glasgow’s East End
Hogmanay 1953
The Steamie
Characters
Doreen (young and fashion
conscious)
Margrit (impatient and cynical)
Dolly (talkative and gullible
Mrs Culfeathers (frail and lonely)
Andy (drunk)
Doreen
 Aspirational
 Young, newly married to John (a typical
Glasgow man but modern in outlook)
 Dramatic irony – Drumchapel
 Fashion conscious
 But … working hard at the Steamie
already and no sign of being able to fulfil
her aspirations
Margrit
 Catholic
 Hardworking
 Married to Peter McGuire, an alcoholic
layabout, and has two children
 Cynical but accepts the status quo
 A little impatient and unforgiving of
others but underneath the hard exteriour
is a soft centre
Dolly
 Naïve and gullible
 Talkative and sociable
 Married with a grown up family
 Comic foil
 Easily fooled
 Good hearted
Mrs Culfeathers
 Molly, married to Harry (who is ill) with 2
grown up sons and 3 grandchildren she
never sees
 Poor and must take in washing to
support her family
 Fond memories of the past
 Lonely
 Subject of pathos
Andy
 Male
 Authority figure but undermined by
Roper
 Makes promises he cannot keep
 Scolds women for drinking but gets
drunk himself
 Symbols for all men – drunk
incompetents which the women love and
care for
Commercial Success
 The Steamie was written for the 1987
Mayfest
 It was hugely popular at the time and
has remained so for the past 20 years
 Commercially very successful
 Popularity as a result of nostalgia and
familiarity
Social, Political and Religious
Issues In ‘The Steamie’
 Nationalism and Use of Scot’s Language
 Poverty and the imbalance of wealth
 Alcohol
 Housing, new towns and Social Change
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Social and Political Issues
Nationalism is not featured fully throughout the
play, however there are some passing
references to the ‘English’ and the British films
by the characters during the play;
“I cannae stand the wey they talk aw yon ya ya
ya.” – Doreen
Money is a theme throughout the play. The
women bring up money frequently in their
conversations during their time at the Steamie. In
reference to the American houses;
“They cost a fortune” - Dolly
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Alcohol is mentioned a lot throughout the play. Most of the time,
the subject of alcohol is brought up by the only male character,
Andy who is drinking on the job, yet accuses the women of
drinking;
“Do you know where they’re getting’ the drink fae Mrs
Culfeathers?”
- Andy
This is ironic as, throughout, men are described as being drunk
all the time; not the women as we find out when Andy has too
much to drink.
“Ah’ve hid a wee drink…but that’s between you and me” – Andy
“He’s lying up there drunk already, oot the game, sick o’er the
carpet, pig”
- Margrit
“Aye, he likes a drink your Peter.” - Dolly
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Imbalance of wealth- in the play there is a clear
divide between the hardship of the working class
and the wealth of society. This is shown mainly
through Mrs Culfeathers’ situation as she is a very
old woman who is not particularly very physically
strong but she is having to do a lot of hard work for
her and her husband:
“she said shed been here since wan o’clock. Imagine
havin’ tae take in washin’ at her age. Y’ed think her
family wid help her oot.”
This shows that Mrs Culfeathers is working class and
was having to work well into her old age just to be able
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to keep herself and her husband alive.
 Use of Scots language - in the play they use
more Glaswegian dialect rather than just
Scots.
 use of the Scots language creates a sense
of closeness between the characters as they
use slang words “eh does she have bowly
legs?”
 The use of the Scots language make this
more humorous and unique.
 Greater identity between the audience in
Scotland and the action on stage. Having
said that, it has toured all over the world.
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Stereotyping
 Most of the characters are stereotyped working
class housewives
 Margrit’s monologue “Isn’t it wonerful to be a
woman.”
 “you get up at the crack of dawn….you don’t
even get a cup of tea before you tidy up. Then
you’ve got to go to work..”
 The workload of a family woman at this time as
expressed by Margrit was fairly typical. Men
gave little help to women who had to shoulder
the burden of looking after the family entirely.
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Nostagia, History and Popular
Tradition
 Nostalgia – a longing for the past (often
in idealized terms)
 History – the past
 Popular Tradition – the use of popular
traditional theatre styles
Nostalgia
 The desire to return to an earlier time in
ones life, or a fond remembrance of that
time, usually tinged with sadness at its
having passed
 Nostalgia is a romanticised, sentimental
or unrealistic interpretation of past
events which is often exploited in
contemporary Scottish Theatre
Nostalgic Devices
 Music (e.g. Pals)
 Set
 Props
 Costume
 Sentimental Memories
 Familiar References
 Humour / Pathos
 Language / Dialect
 Setting (Time)
 Period
These evoke
nostalgic
feelings and
contribute to the
popularity and
commercial
success of any
production.
Hogmanay
The play is set on Hogmanay which
immediately brings to mind familiar
associations to a Scottish audience.
This creates a feeling of NOSTALGIA.
We associate Hogmanay as a time that
is spent with family and friends. This is
often mentioned in the text. Poignantly
Mrs Culfeathers is not with her family
and has been working long hours.
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Hogmanay
 Having a drink with
friends to bring in the
New Year is very
traditional.
 Andy “I mean this is no
fur the management’s
ears…….Ah’ve hid a wee
drink….”
 Alcohol is mentioned
throughout the play.
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Nostalgia
 The play is nostalgic because
“Steamies” no longer exist
Doreen “They’re closin’ aw the
steamies daen, they say
launderettes are gonnae take over”
Nostalgia
 Mrs Culfeathers- “Of course we had
real summers then…”
 Looking back fondly on the past …
 Dolly - “Zat a bubble cut?” which
shows old fashion hairstyles which
were popular in those days.
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Nostalgia
 Doreen- “d’ye want a hauf?”…Andy
“But seein’ its Hogmanay… I’ll no
insult ye…. But jist a wee wan
mind.”
 Dolly- “Get ma curlers in” reminds
us of old ways to style hair because
not so many people use those now.
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Nostalgia
 Magrit “Ah liked the quickstep and
the Foxtrot” - old fashion traditional
dances.
 Magrit “Naw he’s staunin here wi’a
box brownie” - the names of the old
technology i.e. cameras.
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Nostalgia
 Magrit “Staunin at Parkhead
shoutin’ aboot King Billy wi’ the rest o’
the ijiots.” This reference to football
recalls a popular tradition.
 Doreen “She charges one and six
a washin’ ” The reference to predecimilisation is nostalgic for those
old enough to remember it.
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Nostalgia
 The “hard times” creates nostalgia
and shows a view of people who
stuck together.
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Nostalgia
 Mrs Culfeathers- “….And the whole
of Glesca Green was like a sea of
colour…” shows nostalgia for the old
Glasgow.
 Mrs Culfeathers- “There was never
any loneliness in that place, naebody
seemed tae be lonely” shows old
fond memories, rose tinted
memories. Was there really no
loneliness then … or does it merely
reflect a time when Mrs Culfeathers
wasn’t lonely.
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Nostalgia
 Tony Roper shows a warm affectionate
tribute to the community spirit of old
Glasgow.
 He relies heavily on the dialogue of the
action and timing which made it a
success.
 But has the community spirit died out
with the decline of these meeting
places?
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History
It is set in the past.
References to old money, old
fashions, films of the past, the
Glasgow of the past etc
Popular Tradition
 The play is a comedy which relies upon
popular tradition
Popular Tradition
 close actor/audience relationship
 use of music, song and dance
 the use of the ceilidh format
 the tradition of the comic
 effective use of comic timing
 sketches / set pieces
 gags / long running jokes
 double acts/feeding lines
 storytelling techniques
 monologue
 community identity
 character stereotypes
 audience participation
 local dialect language
 local references
 sentimentalising rituals
 performance style
 patter / punchlines
 visual comedy
Songs
 Songs are very much part
of the popular tradition
and are used to make
serious points. “Isn’t it
wonderful to be a woman”
shows the role of women
at this time and how they
had to deal with work and
family life, all without help.
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Songs
 Dolly’s song “pals” also reflects the
popular tradition of women talking to
their friends about their troubles.
 Many audience members can relate to
this.
 Sung by Dolly
“when you’ve got pals You can aye have
a terr If you want tae come and see me
Take a dauner Doon the steamie”
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Humour
 One liners/punch lines
 Long running jokes
 Double acts
 Visual comedy
 Patter
 Dramatic irony
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One liners/punch lines
 A punch line is a joke that gets straight to
the point and has an immediate effect on
the audience
 e.g. When Magrit refers to her Husband :
“…His breath’s like a burst lavy, ye could
strip paint wi’ it.”
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Long running jokes
 A long running joke is one that will be
referred back to through out the play and
continually be made funny.
i.e. Galloway’s mince joke.
Mrs Culfeathers: “I always thought it was
the mince.”
Margrit:
“I wish tae Christ ye’s wid
shut up aboot mince an
tatties. Ma ears are
bleeding wi’ ye’s.
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Double acts
 A double act is formed between two characters
to perform the same joke - Magrit and Doreen
are great examples of teaming up throughout
the play.
 The best example is of Doreen and Magrit on
the “Phone” when they fool Dolly into thinking
there is an actual conversation on the phone
going
Magrit “Bring, Bring, bring, bring, she’s no in
Dolly.”
…
Doreen (to Magrit) “Ah cannae keep this up.”
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Visual comedy
Examples of visual humour in The Steamie are:
• At the start the audience can clearly see a
big sign indicating that no dirty overalls are to
be put in the washing, then they clearly see
Dolly putting her husband’s overalls in the
tub.
 Dolly hiding under the sheet while she tries
to wash herself while Andy gets into trouble
by Magrit - “…insinuating that my friend
Dolly’s washin’ is so dirty it’s movin’?”
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Patter
 The Glasgow Patter is commonly thought to have
been borne out of the shipyards and the microcommunity tenements surrounding them. To be more
accurate, it's more to do with the influx of the witty
Irish when Glasgow began to transform into an
industrial powerhouse.
 Magrit:
Ma Peter wid drink it oot a shitty cloot.
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Dramatic irony
 This plays a huge part in The Steamie. This
is where the audience know something that
the characters do not. An example of this is
Doreen’s comments about “Drumchapel”.
Doreen imagines this to be the start of a
wonderful life for her and her husband, but
in fact the audience know that Drumchapel
did not become that great place she
imagined it would be.
 Doreen “Ah’ll get it eventually Magrit, ah’ve
put ma name doon fur a hoose in
Drumchapel”
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Why is humour used?
 To make a serious point.
 Mostly the women use humour to make
good of a bad situation. In reality they
have little to be happy about but it is a
mean of coping with the situation.
 Humour is used to lighten the atmosphere
and make the women realise that not all
things end up bad - because they’ve
always got their “pals”!
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Issues Of Gender
In
 relationships
 relationship between the
individual and the
Establishment
 marriage and the family
 women and power
 oppression/suffering
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Andy is the only male that appears in the
play.
The other woman talk about their
husbands, Margaret generally talks of her
husband being a drunk- “he’s lyin up
there drunk already, oot the game, sick
o’er the carpet, pig”
Andy turns drunk at the end and loses all
power over the woman.
Mrs Culfeathers’ husband is to ill to work
so she has to do everything.
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The woman talk about having to work a lot, looking
after kids, making the meals, working in the day- “isn’t
it wonderful to be a woman. Ye get up at the crack o
dawn and get the breakfast oan, get the weans ready
and oot the hoose workin as tidy and as well dressed
as ye can afford”
The woman accept men’s role in life - “gambling and
drinking”
The woman are always under the power of the man
(Andy)
Doreen has no aspirations that aren’t domestic: she
aspires to have a washing machine, a bath.
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History of the Steamie
 There are many Gender
issues in the steamie
which has a lot to do with
this period of time and
how women were
expected to do a lot of
work.
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