The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil

One of Scotland’s most celebrated plays is back at Dundee Rep for the second year running. Behind the enduring success of The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil is a great night out

It’s considered a cornerstone of modern Scottish theatre, yet director Joe Douglas says there’s a simple secret to the enduring popularity of The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil.

“It’s just a great night out,” he says. “There are loads of funny lines, there are songs, there’s beautiful Gaelic music. It’s like going to a ceilidh.”

Written in the early 1970s by Liverpudlian John McGrath, who founded the famous 7:84 theatre company, it spans the period from the 19th Century Highland Clearances to the Aberdeen oil boom of the time.

It was one of Scotland’s first theatrical examples of docu-drama and verbatim story-telling and has been credited with greatly influencing generations of theatre-makers.

Though it’s one of the most influential Scottish plays of the last 50 years, The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil hadn’t been performed since 1991 until it was revived by the Dundee Rep last year.

Joe Douglas directed that production and he’s back at the helm again. This year the play will have a run at Dundee Rep from August 31 to September 10 before going on the road, touring theatres in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Glasgow.

“We had to adapt things a bit to accommodate the touring aspect,” Joe explains. “Last year we had the stage looming out into the audience so it felt like you were in the heart of the action. That won’t work with some of the old Victorian theatres we’ll be playing, so we’ve adapted it a bit.

“It’s still going to retain its village hall vibe, however.”

Emily Winter and Stephen Bangs in a performance of The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil.