The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Here’s something to Smile about
A statue to Dundee United’s legendary manager will be erected this year and he is the subject of a new play to run at Dundee Rep Theatre from February 18 to March 7. But what was he like, really?
“What I want to do with Smile is show all the bits of Jim McLean that everybody knows,” says Philip Differ, writer of Dundee Rep’s football-focused new main stage production. “Or the bits they think they know, anyway, all of the cliches – but then to go underneath that and try to find out what motivated him and why he was like he was, the things he was proud of and the things he regretted.
“I want to let the west of Scotland man open up a bit and show his emotions, which none of us – Scottish men, I’m talking about – are very good at.”
Born in Larkhall in 1937, James Yuill McLean is not just a Scottish football management great, but also a defining figure in the history of Dundee; at least, he is if you support the Tangerine half of the city. He managed Dundee United for 22 years between the 1970s and 1990s, and carried on as chairman and majority shareholder for another decade.
Along the way he won one league title, two domestic cups and led United to heroic exploits in the latter stages of European competition in the 1980s. Yet to many outside of Dundee, McLean will be most remembered for the on-camera altercation with BBC Scotland reporter John Barnes that brought his reign to an end in 2000.
It’s this dichotomy that appealed to Differ – who is most widely known as the creator of Scottish football parody sketch show Only An Excuse? – and as producer of BBC Scotland’s Comedy Unit, which gave us Rab C Nesbitt, Chewin’ the Fat and Still Game.
“I was up in Dundee visiting a friend who lives on South Tay Street,” says Differ, “which is the same street as
Dundee Rep – I saw the building and thought, I really like the look of that place, I’d like to work there. It’s got a pull, a vibe about it. So I began to think of stories about Dundee.
“Jim McLean is a Scottish footballing legend,” he continues. “He’s up there with (Jock) Stein and Fergie (Alex Ferguson), and yet he’s largely ignored, probably because he had the image of being so dour-faced and belligerent. As a writer, that image intrigued me.
McLean – who will be honoured with a fan-funded statue outside Tannadice later this year – is in ill-health at the moment, although Differ’s research involved speaking to his wife Doris and son Gary, which helped give him a unique perspective on his subject. “It’s a story told with laughter, because that’s my background,” he says, “although there’s pathos and sadness in there too.
“Football is showbiz, and Jim hid behind an act that came across as belligerence
“I want to let the audience work out the true nature of the man. Football is showbiz, and Jim hid behind an act that came across as belligerence.”
Although a new audience is expected for this show, regulars at the Rep will be excited to hear that the stalwart Barrie Hunter takes the role of McLean, while Chris Alexander takes on at least another 15 parts. Smile is directed by Sally Reid, one of Scotland’s finest comedy actors, who has been dipping her toe into direction recently. “There are so many stories about Jim, that they’ve become folk tales,” says Reid, who grew up supporting Aberdeen FC. “Did they all really happen? This is a journey through his life and career, his plaudits and misdemeanours – there’s a lot of light and shade, but hopefully it’s funny and celebratory too.
“The parallels between football and theatre haven’t gone unnoticed by us,” she continues. “You’ve got to pick your team and choose your tactics, but you’re essentially putting on a piece of entertainment.
“That’s why I enjoyed football as a kid, because it was theatre, with the goodies and baddies and all that. In both, you want to give people a good time, to energise them and have them feel something.”