With support from The Scottish Society of Playwrights’ SSP@50 Fellowship Awards, journalist and critic Fergus Morgan presents a new podcast, A History Of Scottish Drama In Six Plays. For one night only, Morgan will celebrate the launch of the podcast with a live episode at the Traverse Theatre.
Over six episodes, A History Of Scottish Drama In Six Plays charts the evolution of Scottish drama from pre-reformation times to the present day. With thought-provoking discussion and insight from playwrights, academics, critics and other experts, the podcast journeys through the ages, alighting on pioneering plays along the way. The series explores the historical foundations of Scottish drama, its development through the twentieth century, and considers the uncertain future it faces today.
Episode one – released on Monday 28 October – will delve into A Satire Of The Three Estates, written by Sir David Lyndsay in the mid-sixteenth century; episode two focuses on Glasgow Unity Theatre and Ena Lamont Stewart’s social realist classic Men Should Weep; episode three explores the explosion of activity in Scottish theatre in the 1970s, concentrating on 7:84 and John McGrath’s ceilidh play The Cheviot, The Stag and The Black Oil; episode four is about the Traverse Theatre in 1980s and focuses on Jo Clifford’s Losing Venice; episode five looks to the 1990s and Stephen Greenhorn’s Passing Places; and episode six arrives in the twenty-first century, centring on the foundation of the National Theatre of Scotland and the success of Gregory Burke’s Black Watch.
Guests across the series include: Joyce McMillan, Mark Fisher, Peter Arnott, Jo Clifford, Stephen Greenhorn, Nicola McCartney, Bill Paterson, Professor Trish Reid, Dr Linda MacKenney, Gregory Thompson, Paul Miller, Muireann Kelly and more.
To accompany the release of the podcast, Morgan will host a panel discussion on the current state of Scottish drama at a launch event on Monday 28 October, which will be recorded live and released as a seventh and final episode of the series on Monday 9 December.
The launch event will run from 6.30pm until 9pm in the Traverse Bar, with the discussion taking place from 7.15pm until 8.15pm. Panellists include the critic Mark Fisher, the playwrights Nicola McCartney and Isla Cowan, and Traverse Theatre artistic director Gareth Nicholls.
A History Of Scottish Drama In Six Plays has been created with support from the Scottish Society of Playwrights’ SSP@50 Fellowship Awards, which are supported by Creative Scotland, and Bespoken Media. It is made in association with the Traverse Theatre.
