New play offers poignant look at lives affected by Tay Bridge disaster

It’s a tale that locals have been told for over 100 years and now it’s been brought to the stage in a powerful new play.

On the night of Sunday December 28, 1879, the unthinkable happened. Battered by a ferocious storm, the Tay Bridge (reported to have been the longest bridge in the world at the time) collapsed with a train bound for Dundee on it.

“Tay Bridge” tells the poignant and unexpected stories of the suddenly interrupted passengers making the journey that night. Who were they? Where were they going? What were they escaping and where did they believe they were heading?

It’s estimated between 60 and 80 people lost their lives in the accident (although the true figure has never been confirmed), each with their own story to tell.

Written by Peter Arnott and directed by Dundee Rep Artistic Director Andrew Panton, “Tay Bridge” is a heartfelt and moving

portrait of an era, and of a group of people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Andrew Panton explained: “We’re definitely not putting a disaster movie on stage. The disaster is really a framing device for the play.

“The audience will obviously know what the end point is going to be, but it’s really the individual characters that they gradually find out about and how their lives intertwine.”

A powerful mood piece, “Tay Bridge” was written specially for the Dundee Rep Ensemble and gives a whole new perspective on this infamous bridge disaster.

This unique commission from one of Scotland’s most iconic writers kicks off Dundee Rep’s anniversary season of local stories straight from the heart of Dundee.

“Tay Bridge” is suitable for theatregoers 12 years and up.

Book your tickets, and find out more about Dundee Rep’s 80th anniversary season, at www.dundeerep.co.uk.