7:84 was a Scottish left-wing agitprop theatre group. The name comes from a statistic on distribution of wealth in the United Kingdom, published in The Economist in 1966, that 7% of the population of the UK owned 84% of the country's wealth.
The group was founded by playwright John McGrath, his wife Elizabeth MacLennan and her brother David MacLennan in 1971, and operated throughout Great Britain. In 1973, it split into 7:84 (England) and 7:84 (Scotland). The English group folded in 1984, having lost its grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain. Jo Beddoe joined the Scottish group as producer in 1988 until 1992; however, it lost its funding from the Scottish Arts Council in 2006, though Artistic Director Lorenzo Mele successfully secured funding for a further year from April 2007. He subsequently commissioned a series of four plays, Wound by Nicola McCartney, Eclipse by Haresh Sharma, A Time To Go by Selma Dimitrijevic, and Doch-An-Doris (A Parting Drink) by Linda McLean. Together, these short plays formed Re:Union, a production which toured Scotland in early 2007. This was followed in September 2007 by Raman Mundair's The Algebra of Freedom, which also toured extensively throughout Scotland. This production was directed by 7:84's Associate Director, Jo Ronan, and designed by David Sneddon.
On 31 December 2008, the Scottish company ceased operating, citing "the changing funding structures in Scottish theatre."Announcement posted at http://www.784theatre.co.uk/. Cached page available https://www.webcitation.org/5pnoU9luB?url=
Touring productions
Although much of its work centres on outreach projects throughout Scotland, 7:84 was principally known for its touring productions. The following table contains details of all 7:84's major productions that toured nationally.
Show Director Writer Date The Algebra of Freedom Jo Ronan Raman Mundair 5 September – 6 October 2007 Re:Union Lorenzo Mele & Jo Ronan Selma Dimitrijevic, Nicola McCartney, Linda McLean & Haresh Sharma 11 April – 5 May 2007 Free-Fall Lorenzo Mele Christopher Deans 16 February – 8 April 2006 Borderland Andrew Doyle 22 September – 5 November 2005 Tipping Point Davey Anderson 6 June – 3 July 2005 Boiling a Frog Christopher Deans (based on the novel by Christopher Brookmyre) 3 February – 2 April 2005 Private Agenda N/A 2 September – 23 October 2004 Reasons to be Cheerful Stuart Davids Martin McCardie 19 February – 10 April 2004 Gilt Zinnie Harris Stephen Greenhorn, Rona Munro & Isabel Wright 2 October – 9 November 2003 Can't Pay? Won't Pay! Andy Arnold Dario Fo 6 February – 22 March 2003 Factory Girls Guy Hollands Frank McGuinness 3 October – 9 November 2002 Cave Dwellers Gordon Laird Nicola McCartney 14 February – 23 March 2002 The News at When...? N/A 23 November – 22 December 2001 Marching On Gary Mitchell 29 March – 12 April 2001 A Little Rain Peter Arnott 22 September – 5 November 2005 24 Hours Iain Reekie Frances Corr, Deirdre Heddon, Jess Kerr, Ernie Kyle, Frank Shields, Rhiannon Tise 16 March – 22 April 2000 Caledonia Dreaming David Greig 6 June – 19 July 1999 and later revived at the 1999 Edinburgh Festival Dissent Stephen Greenhorn 5 November – 6 December 1998 Valley Song Natalie Wilson Athol Fugard 19 May – 14 June 1998 Tongues Andrew Dawson, John Heraghty, Natalie Wilson 11–28 February 1997 Angels in America Iain Reekie Tony Kushner 29 March – May 1996 Born Guilty Peter Sichrovsky 27 April – 18 June 1995 The Salt Wound Jim Culleton Stephen Greenhorn 21 September – 5 November 1994 The Grapes of Wrath Iain Reekie Frank Galati 25 February – 1 March 1994 Twilight Shift Jackie Kay 6 October – 7 November 1993 Phoenix Roy MacGregor 11 May – 20 June 1993 Sophocles' Antigone Dan Taylor 23 February – 27 March 1993 The Lament for Arthur Cleary Dermot Bolger 14 October – 21 November 1992 Scotland Matters John Binnie, Iain Heggie, Liz Lochhead, Ann-Marie Di Mambro, Gurmeet Mattu, Rona Munro & Jimmy Reid 12 May – 6 June 1992 Jump the Life to Come Noel Greig 6 February – 15 March 1992 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Roanna Benn Ralf Manheim / Bertolt Brecht 4 October – 4 November 1991 Revolting Peasants Gerard Kelly Patricia Prior 14 May – 15 June 1991 Bold Girls Lynne Parker Rona Munro 27 September – 17 November 1990 Govan Stories Roanna Benn 2–25 May 1990 When The Wind Blows Gerard Kelly Raymond Briggs 25 August – 7 October 1989 Road David Hayman Jim Cartwright 8 May – 3 June 1989 The Sash Gerard Kelly Hector MacMillan 24 January – 25 April 1989Preview of The Sash, The List, Issue 85, 13 - 26 January 1989, p. 22Review of The Sash by Sarah Hemming, The List, Issue 87, 10 - 23 February 1989, p. 24 Long Story Short Finlay Welsh Donald Campbell, James Graham, Tom Leonard, Aonghas Macneacoil, Ann Marie Di Mambro, Gureet Mattu, Rona Munro, Ricky Ross and Ann Samuel 28 February – 31 March 1989 No Mean City Alex Norton David Hayman 24 May – 16 July 1988 Mairi Mhor - The Woman from Skye John McGrath John McGrath 2 September – 17 October 1987 The Gorbals Story David Hayman Robert McLeish 6 May – 20 June 1987 There is a Happy Land John McGrath John McGrath 25 April – 7 June 1986 Beneath One Banner David Maclennan Sean McCarthy 13 February – 5 April 1986 The Incredible Brechin Beetle Bug John Haswell Matt McGinn 3 December – 16 January 1986 High Places Ena Lamont Stewart 13 March – 16 May 1985 The Albannach Finlay Welsh John McGrath 28 February – 26 April 1985 In Time of Strife David Hayman Joe Corrie 7 May – 15 June 1984 The Baby and the Bathwater John Haswell John McGrath 19 October – 8 December 1984 The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists David Hayman Archie Hind 8 May – 9 June 1984 The Clydebuilt Season 10 February – 15 May 1982 Gold in his Boots John McGrath George Munro Johnny Noble David Scase Ewan MacColl Men Should Weep Giles Havergal Ena Lamont Stewart One Big Blow John Burrows John Burrows 1981 The Catch John McGrath John McGrath 15 August – 7 November 1981 Blood Red Roses 18 August – 8 November 1980 Swings and Roundabouts 26 February - 22 March 1980 Joe's Drum Campbell Morrison 21 May – 22 June 1979 Thought for Today David Maclennan Company collaboration 10 February – 16 March 1977 Honour Your Partners David Maclennan 27 January – 10 April 1976 Little Red Hen John McGrath 16 September – 13 December 1975 The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil 31 March – June 1973 The Game’s a Bogey 1974
Notable people Jo Beddoe Henry Ian Cusick Dick Gaughan Bill Paterson David Hayman Douglas Henshall Valerie Lilley Steve McNicholas Cathy-Ann McPhee Dolina MacLennan Hilton McRae Alexander Morton Peter Mullan Alex Norton David Paisley Laurance Rudic David Tennant The Flying Pickets
Reviews Findlay, Bill (1982), review of Clydebuilt: A season of Scottish Popular Drama from the '20s, '30s and '40s, in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), Cencrastus No. 10, Autumn 1982, p. 39,
References