John Byrne pops up at new museum
Book from iconic Scots play goes on show at V & A
A theatre set by Paisley’s John Byrne in the shape of a huge pop-up book is to go on display at Scotland’s newest museum.
The book, which dates from 1973, was the original stage set for The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil, which was written by John McGrath about the history and exploitation of the Highlands.
And now visitors to the V&A in Dundee will be able to see it when the new venue opens on Saturday, September 15.
Philip Long, Director of V&A Dundee, said: “John Byrne’s striking pop- up book is a fantastic example of imaginative design. Not only was it made to be portable on the long trips between towns and villages across the Highland and Islands, it also added to the magic of the play.
“It is painted like a children’s book, which deliberately creates quite a juxtaposition with the hard- hitting subject matter of the play.
“Due to its sheer size there have been limited opportunities for the public to see this stage set after the original 1970s tour of the play, so we are delighted that people will be able to enjoy it when they visit V&A Dundee.”
Playwright McGrath approached Byrne to make the pop-up book after seeing a giant pair of welly boots the artist had made for Billy Connolly’s The Great Northern Welly Boot Show.
Measuring more than three by four metres when open and over two metres tall, the amazing book is made up of five pop-up scenes painted by Byrne, who was brought up in Ferguslie Park, and is renowned as both an artist and playwright.
The scenes include a Highland landscape, a croft house, a poppystrewn war memorial and a Native American tipi.
The compact design, made of cardboard, meant the set was cheap to make and could be transported on the top of a van and quickly set up in village halls as it toured around Scotland. The actors would turn the page during the play to reveal the next scene.
The pop-up book was acquired by the National Library of Scotland in 2009 and is the largest book in its collection. The Library has granted a 25-year loan of the work to V&A Dundee, which will be displayed in the museum’s permanent Scottish Design Galleries.
V&A Dundee and the National Library of Scotland are also working together on a project to digitally record the pop-up book so people all over the world will be able to look through its pages.
A virtual 3D model of the stage set has been created by photographing each page from thousands of different angles. Members of the public can view this on the National Library of Scotland website.
Dr John Scally, National Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library of Scotland, said: “It will be difficult to let this important part of our collection go after years of careful restoration. But that is the whole point of preservation – to enable future generations to enjoy items of great national and cultural significance.
“We can’t think of a more fitting place for the stage-set to be on display than V&A Dundee. But for anyone who won’t be able to see it in person, we are thrilled to say we digitised the stage-set so anyone in Scotland – or indeed the world – can view a 3D model online. As we race to have a third of our collection in digital format by our centenary in 2025, this is one of the highlights.”