| AdminHistory | John McGrath, playwright and director, founded the 7:84 Theatre Company in 1971 and toured in Scotland, England and Wales. The title of the company derived from a 1966 statistic that 7% of the population of Great Britain owned 84 % of the wealth. The company split in two in 1973 to form 7:84 (England) and 7:84 (Scotland).
The aims of 7:84 were to present the realities of working class life and history to working class audiences in venues shunned by established national and regional companies. In 1973, the company split into two, one touring Scotland, and one touring England and Wales. 7:84 (Scotland) toured throughout Scotland with its productions. McGrath wrote and directed many plays performed by 7:84, including Blood Red Roses and The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil. In 1988 John McGrath resigned and was replaced by David Hayman and Gerard Kelly. In 1992 Iain Reekie was appointed as artistic director. The company became a private limited company, 7:84 Theatre Company (Scotland) Ltd, in 1997.
Due to the changing funding structures in Scottish theatre, 7:84 ceased trading with effect from 31st December 2008. |