7:84 was aScottishleft-wingagitprop theatre group. The name comes from a statistic ondistribution of wealth in the United Kingdom, published inThe Economist in 1966, that 7% of the population of the UK owned 84% of the country's wealth.
The group was founded by playwrightJohn McGrath, his wifeElizabeth MacLennan and her brotherDavid MacLennan in 1971, and operated throughoutGreat Britain.[1] In 1973, it split into 7:84 (England) and 7:84 (Scotland). The English group folded in 1984, having lost its grant from theArts Council of Great Britain.[2]Jo Beddoe joined the Scottish group as producer in 1988 until 1992;[3] however, it lost its funding from theScottish Arts Council in 2006, though Artistic Director Lorenzo Mele successfully secured funding for a further year from April 2007.[4] He subsequently commissioned a series of four plays,Wound by Nicola McCartney,Eclipse byHaresh Sharma,A Time To Go by Selma Dimitrijevic, andDoch-An-Doris (A Parting Drink) by Linda McLean. Together, these short plays formedRe:Union, a production which toured Scotland in early 2007. This was followed in September 2007 byRaman Mundair'sThe 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."[5]
Although much of its work centres on outreach projects throughoutScotland, 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 byChristopher 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 Sirchrovsky | 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 1989[6][7] |
| 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 | ||
Findlay, Bill (1982), review ofClydebuilt: A season of Scottish Popular Drama from the '20s, '30s and '40s, in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.),Cencrastus No. 10, Autumn 1982, p. 39,ISSN 0264-0856
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