Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Ghost Of John Nisbet: Hugh Macdiarmid’S First Published Work, Alan Riach

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the first published item, a short play, signed with the name 'Hugh M'acDiamid', and sets in its biographical and historical context just after the First World War and in the literary context of 1922 and international modernism, in 1922, viewing it as 'an encapsulation of its moment, and most importantly as an elegiac tribute to a friend,' arguing that 'Performing "Nisbet" as a play intimates the drama of fractured modernist selfhood implicit in the written text,' and concluding that it should be seen 'in the whole national context of Scotland finding a way towards a reconstruction of itself, a …

Robert Burns’S Life On The Stage: A Bibliography Of Dramatic Works, 1842–2019, Thomas Keith

Studies in Scottish Literature

This article traces the changing history of how the Scottish poet Robert Burns has been portrayed on stage, both in Scotland and elsewhere, discussing the the issues playwrights have faced and some of the approaches they have used, and provides an annotated chronological bibliography of ninety plays about Burns's life written or first staged between 1842 and 2019, with information on first known performance and on any published versions or known manuscript or typescript, and with brief notes where information is available on the style of the play and critical reaction.

Joe Corrie’S In Time O’ Strife, The General Strike Of 1926, And The Impasse Of Insurgent Masculinity, Paul Malgrati

Studies in Scottish Literature

Examines the ex-miner and labour journalist Joe Corrie's three-act play In Time o’ Strife, set in West Fife ("the most significant working-class play written about the 1926 General Strike"), setting it in the context of Corrie's writing career, and exploring the psychological, familial, and political conflicts, including conflicts of gender roles, which it dramatizes.

‘...Arranged In A Fanciful Manner And In An Ancient Style’: The First Scenic Realisations Of Scott’S Work And The Desire For A New “Realism” On Scottish Stages, Barbara Bell

Studies in Scottish Literature

An illustrated essay examining the stage design and scenery in early dramatizations of Scott's fiction, specifically the designs by Alexander Nasmyth for versions of Scott's stage adaptations of Scott's The Heart of Mid-Lothian, in London in 1819 and in Edinburgh in 1820, arguing that the rise of scenic realism strengthened the relationship between the theatre and the broader population.

Claimed By The Stage: Popular Dramatization And The Legacy Of The Lady Of The Lake, Mary Nestor

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses three stage adaptations of Scott's poem The Lady of the Lake, by Thomas Dibdin for the Surrey Theatre, London, John Edmund Eyre, for the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, and Thomas Morton for Covent Garden, arguing that these popular melodramas shaped popular perception of how Scott's poem engaged the Highland landscape.

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‘A’ That’S Past Forget – Forgie’: National Drama And The Construction Of Scottish National Identity On The Nineteenth-Century Stage, Paula Sledzinska

Studies in Scottish Literature

Focused on dramatic adaptations of Walter Scott’s Rob Roy and Waverley for the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, by Isaac Pocock and John W. Calcraft, this essay explores "how the conflicted Lowland and Highland traditions became incorporated into the new image of the nation," offering "a theatrical reflection of the dynamic process of identity building in the nineteenth-century Scotland."

From Meyerhold And Blue Blouse To Mcgrath And 7:84: Political Theatre In Russia And Scotland, Rania Karoula

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the 1920s Russian political theatre movement Blue Blouse, as seen in 1926 by the American Hallie Flanagan (later director of the Federal Theatre Project), the Scottish radical theatre group 7:84, the Scottish company's successful Russian tour in 1982, and parallels between the two in approach and staging as analysed by 7:84's John McGrath.

Scottish Demotics And Russian Soul: Liz Lochhead’S Adaptation Of Chekhov's Three Sisters, Ksenija Horvat

Studies in Scottish Literature

Explores theatrical issues and theoretical approaches to translating, adapting and staging Chekhov's classic play Three Sisters, through adaptations by the Irish playwright Brian Friel and (briefly) the Scot John Byrne, and then discusses more fully the adaptation by Liz Lochhead, premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in 2000.

Immigrant Communities, Cultural Conflicts, And Intermarriage In Ann Marie Di Mambro's Tally's Blood, Ian Brown

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the stage history, structure and themes of Anne Marie Di Mambro’s play Tally’s Blood (1990), especially in terms of the cultural stresses on Italian immigrant families in Scotland in the 1930s and the impact on them of the Second World War.

John Byrne's The Slab Boys: Technicolored Hell-Hole In A Town Called Malice, William Donaldson

Studies in Scottish Literature

Presents a detailed discussion and appreciation of the Slab Boys tetralogy, a sequence of four plays by the Scottish playwright and painter John Byrne, beginning with The Slab Boys (1978), focused on a group of apprentices in the color-mixing room of a Paisley carpet-factory in the 1950s, and then tracing the divergence of their lives through three later plays, The Loveliest Night of the Year (1979, later titled Cuttin' A Rug), Still Life (1982), and Nova Scotia (2008); examines Byrne's characterization, "excoriatingly destructive wit," and "rambunctiously demotic language"; analyzes the tetralogy's continuing major themes of the relation between art …

Tollerators And Con-Tollerators (1703) And Archibald Pitcairne: Text, Background And Authorship, John Macqueen

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the historical background and theatrical characteristics of a short satirical play set in Edinburgh in 1703, giving the background to the Scottish Parliament's divisions over (and presbyterian hostility to) an act to give religious toleration to Episcopalian ministers; argues that the most probable author is the Jacobite poet and playwright Dr. Archibald Pitcairne (1652-1713); and presents the first modern annotated text of the play.

The Popular Voice In Sir David Lyndsay's Satire Of The Thrie Estaitis, Greg Walker

Studies in Scottish Literature

Analyzes the representation of the Scottish people in the 16th century Scottish drama A Satire of the Thrie Estaitis by Sir David Lyndsay [or Lindsay] (1490-1555), through the figure of the Pauper or Poor Man in the first version (the 1540 interlude performed at Linlithgow), and the character of John of the Commonwealth in the two fuller versions (at Cupar in 1552 and Edinburgh in 1554). Distinguishes Lyndsay's Pauper from equivalent figures in plays by John Bale and Nicholas Udall, and argues (by contrast with Tyrone Guthrie's famous 1948 Edinburgh festival production) that John of the Commonwealth is less a …

Robert Burns As Dramatic Poet, R. D. S. Jack

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses Burns's skill in creating dramatic voice in his poetry, and what can be learned about the poems in their performance. Examples include "My luve is like a red, red rose," "John Anderson, my jo," "Robert Burns's March to Bannockburn," and "Tam o' Shanter."

Adam Ferguson And John Witherspoon In "Satan's Seminary": Douglas, The Critics. And Moral Philosophy, Thome Compton

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the controversy over John Home's tragedy Douglas on its first staging,