Dundee Rep Ensemble

Dundee Rep Ensemble presents
The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black Black Oil
by John McGrath
directed by Joe Douglas, designed by Graham McLaren, lighting by Kate Bonney, music & sound by Aly Macrae and Michael John McCarthy

The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil tells the history and the tragedy of Scotland, performed as a Highland ceilidh, with song, humour and drama intermixed; creating a unique theatrical event, that remains as vital and relevant today as it was when 7:84 Scotland first presented it.

The Cheviot was given its first public airing at the ‘What Kind of Scotland?’ conference in Edinburgh on 31 March 1973, followed by its first public performance a month later at the Aberdeen Arts Centre. What no one could have predicted at those first performances was that this revolutionary theatrical event would soon become a cornerstone of contemporary Scottish theatre.

This extraordinary play looks at the exploitation and economic changes in the Scottish Highlands throughout history; from the ruthless evictions of Highland crofters making way for the more economically viable Cheviot sheep in the 18th century, to the development of stag hunts in game parks in the 19th century and finally the exploitation of resources during the North Sea Oil boom of the 1970s. Written as a musical drama by John McGrath, it explores stories and experiences of Scotland’s land, sea and people across the centuries.

Dundee Rep Ensemble has uniquely been granted permission to present this pivotal piece of Scottish theatre in the first professional production on the Scottish stage in more than twenty years.