John McGrath

John Peter McGrath (1935 – 2002) was an English playwright and theatre theorist who took up the cause of Scottish independence in his plays. From an Irish Catholic background, McGrath was born in Birkenhead, and educated in Mold and, after his National Service, at St John's College, Oxford. During the early 1960s he worked for the BBC, and wrote and directed many of the early episodes of the Corporation's police series Z-Cars which began in 1962.

He is remembered as a playwright and for his theoretical formulation of the principles of a radical, popular theatre. The 7:84 Theatre Company was established in 1971 by McGrath, his wife, Elizabeth MacLennan, and her brother, David MacLennan, and The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil (1973), his best-known play, was created with these principles in mind. It utilizes some of the dramaturgical and theatrical techniques of epic theatre – actors take on multiple roles and frequently slip out of character – of the type associated with the …more

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Books with John McGrath

	On the Other Side of Sorrow: Nature & People in the Scottish Highlands by James Hunter 4.20 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 1995 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Scotland and Nationalism: Scottish Society and Politics 1707 to the Present by Christopher Harvie 3.31 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 1977 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Scottish Literature: An Introduction by Alan Riach 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2022 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Television and History by Colin McArthur really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1978 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Scottish Theatre Since the Seventies by Randall Stevenson (Editor) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1996 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Scottish Literature since 1707 by Marshall Walker 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1996 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Freedom's Pioneer: John McGrath's Work in Theatre, Film and Television by David Bradby (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2005 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Crann-Tàra: Summer 1981 by Norman Easton (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1981 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chapman 14: 7:84 Theatre Examined: ‘Heroes and Villains' by Joy Hendry (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1976 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cencrastus No. 8: Spring 1982 by Glen Murray (Managing Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1982 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars