7:84 was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 left-wing agitprop theatre group. The name comes from a statistic, published in The Economist

The Economist

The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...

in 1966, that 7% of the population of the UK owned 84% of the state's wealth.

The group was originally founded by playwright John McGrath in 1971, and operated throughout Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

. In 1973, it split into 7:84 (England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

) and 7:84 (Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

). The English group folded in 1984, having lost its grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain

Arts Council of Great Britain

The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...

. The Scottish group lost its funding from the Scottish Arts Council

Scottish Arts Council

The Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...

 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

Haresh Sharma

Haresh Sharma is a Singaporean playwright. To date, he has written more than fifty plays that have been staged all over the world, including Singapore, Melbourne, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cairo and London. Sharma has a BA from the National University of Singapore as well as an MA in Playwriting from...

, 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

Raman Mundair

Raman Mundair is a British poet, writer, artist and playwright. She was born in Ludhiana, India and came to live in the UK at the age of five. Her poetry has been featured in Acumen, Poetry Scotland, Kavya Bharati and widely anthologized...

'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 trading, citing "the changing funding structures in Scottish theatre."

Touring productions

Although much of its work centres around outreach projects throughout Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, 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 Raman Mundair Raman Mundair is a British poet, writer, artist and playwright. She was born in Ludhiana, India and came to live in the UK at the age of five. Her poetry has been featured in Acumen, Poetry Scotland, Kavya Bharati and widely anthologized...	5 September - 6 October 2007
Re:Union	Lorenzo Mele & Jo Ronan	Selma Dimitrijevic, Nicola McCartney, Linda McLean & Haresh Sharma Haresh Sharma Haresh Sharma is a Singaporean playwright. To date, he has written more than fifty plays that have been staged all over the world, including Singapore, Melbourne, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cairo and London. Sharma has a BA from the National University of Singapore as well as an MA in Playwriting from...	11 April - 5 May 2007
Free-Fall	Lorenzo Mele	Christopher Deans	16 February - 8 April 2006
Borderland	Lorenzo Mele	Andrew Doyle	22 September - 5 November 2005
Tipping Point	Lorenzo Mele	Davey Anderson	6 June - 3 July 2005
Boiling a Frog	Lorenzo Mele	Christopher Deans (based on the novel by Christopher Brookmyre Christopher Brookmyre Christopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author... )	3 February - 2 April 2005
Private Agenda	Lorenzo Mele	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 Stephen Greenhorn Stephen Greenhorn is a Scottish playwright, television writer and novelist.He is the creator of the BBC Scotland soap opera River City.... , Rona Munro Rona Munro Rona Munro is a Scottish writer. She has written plays for theatre, radio, and television; was the author of the screenplay of Ken Loach's Ladybird, Ladybird and co-author of Aimée & Jaguar by German director Max Färberböck.Munro is also known for being the author of the last Doctor Who television...  & Isabel Wright	2 October - 9 November 2003
Can't Pay? Won't Pay!	Andy Arnold	Dario Fo Dario Fo Dario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright, theater director, actor and composer. His dramatic work employs comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the working classes. He currently owns and operates a theatre company with his wife, actress...	6 February - 22 March 2003
Factory Girls	Guy Hollands	Frank McGuinness Frank McGuinness Professor Frank McGuinness is an award-winning Irish playwright and poet. As well as his own works, which include Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, he is recognised for a "strong record of adapting literary classics, having translated the plays of Racine, Sophocles, Ibsen and...	3 October - 9 November 2002
Cave Dwellers	Gordon Laird	Nicola McCartney	14 February - 23 March 2002
The News at When...?	Gordon Laird	N/A	23 November - 22 December 2001
Marching On	Gordon Laird	Gary Mitchell Gary Mitchell Gary Mitchell is a Northern Irish playwright. By the 2000s, he had become "one of the most talked about voices in European theatre ... whose political thrillers have arguably made him Northern Ireland's greatest playwright"....	29 March - 12 April 2001
A Little Rain	Gordon Laird	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	Iain Reekie	David Greig David Greig (dramatist) David Greig is a Scottish playwright and theatre director.Greig was born in Edinburgh in 1969 and was brought up in Nigeria. He studied drama at Bristol University. He has been commissioned by the Royal Court Theatre, the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company amongst others.His...	6 June - 19 July 1999 and later revived at the 1999 Edinburgh Festival
Dissent	Iain Reekie	Stephen Greenhorn Stephen Greenhorn Stephen Greenhorn is a Scottish playwright, television writer and novelist.He is the creator of the BBC Scotland soap opera River City....	5 November - 6 December 1998
Valley Song	Natalie Wilson	Athol Fugard Athol Fugard Athol Fugard is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director who writes in English, best known for his political plays opposing the South African system of apartheid and for the 2005 Academy-Award winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood...	19 May - 14 June 1998
Tongues	Andrew Dawson, John Heraghty, Natalie Wilson		11 - 28 February 1997
Angels in America Angels in America Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winning play in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television miniseries and an opera by Peter Eötvös.-Characters:...	Iain Reekie	Tony Kushner Tony Kushner Anthony Robert "Tony" Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Life and career:Kushner was born...	29 March - May 1996
Born Guilty	Iain Reekie	Peter Sirchrovsky	27 April - 18 June 1995
The Salt Wound	Jim Culleton	Stephen Greenhorn Stephen Greenhorn Stephen Greenhorn is a Scottish playwright, television writer and novelist.He is the creator of the BBC Scotland soap opera River City....	21 September - 5 November 1994
The Grapes of Wrath The Grapes of Wrath The Grapes of Wrath is a novel published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962....	Iain Reekie	Frank Galati Frank Galati Frank Galati is an American director, writer and actor. He is a member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, an associate director at Goodman Theatre, and a professor of performance at Northwestern University. In 2004, Galati was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame...	25 February - 1 March 1994
Twilight Shift	Iain Reekie	Jackie Kay Jackie Kay Jackie Kay MBE is a Scottish poet and novelist.-Biography:Jackie Kay was born in Glasgow in 1961 to a Scottish mother and a Nigerian father, Jonathan C. Okafor who later became a prominent tropical plant taxonomist...	6 October - 7 November 1993
Phoenix	Iain Reekie	Roy MacGregor	11 May - 20 June 1993
Sophocles Sophocles Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides... ' Antigone Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root...	Iain Reekie	Dan Taylor	23 February - 27 March 1993
The Lament for Arthur Cleary	Iain Reekie	Dermot Bolger Dermot Bolger Dermot Bolger is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet born in Finglas, a suburb of Dublin.His work is often concerned with the articulation of the experiences of working-class characters who, for various reasons, feel alienated from society. Bolger questions the relevance of traditional...	14 October - 21 November 1992
Scotland Matters	Iain Reekie	John Binnie, Iain Heggie, Liz Lochhead Liz Lochhead Liz Lochhead is a Scottish poet and dramatist, originally from Newarthill in North Lanarkshire.-Background:After attending Glasgow School of Art, Lochhead lectured in fine art for eight years before becoming a professional writer.... , Ann-Marie Di Mambro, Gurmeet Mattu, Rona Munro Rona Munro Rona Munro is a Scottish writer. She has written plays for theatre, radio, and television; was the author of the screenplay of Ken Loach's Ladybird, Ladybird and co-author of Aimée & Jaguar by German director Max Färberböck.Munro is also known for being the author of the last Doctor Who television...  & Jimmy Reid	12 May - 6 June 1992
Jump the Life to Come	Iain Reekie	Noel Greig Noël Greig Noël Antony Miller Greig was a British playwright most noted for his work in radical gay theatre. Greig wrote over 50 plays, as well as directed and produced numerous companies in both the United Kingdom and around the world.One of the hallmarks of Greig's plays is there demonstration of gay...	6 February - 15 March 1992
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui is a play by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, originally written in 1941...	Roanna Benn	Ralf Manheim / Bertolt Brecht Bertolt Brecht Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...	4 October - 4 November 1991
Revolting Peasants	Gerard Kelly	Patricia Prior	14 May - 15 June 1991
Bold Girls	Lynne Parker	Rona Munro Rona Munro Rona Munro is a Scottish writer. She has written plays for theatre, radio, and television; was the author of the screenplay of Ken Loach's Ladybird, Ladybird and co-author of Aimée & Jaguar by German director Max Färberböck.Munro is also known for being the author of the last Doctor Who television...	27 September - 17 November 1990
Govan Stories	Roanna Benn		2 May - 25 May 1990
When The Wind Blows When the Wind Blows When the Wind Blows is a 1982 graphic novel, by British artist Raymond Briggs, that shows a nuclear attack on Britain by the Soviet Union from the viewpoint of a retired couple, Jim and Hilda Bloggs. The book was later made into an animated film.-Plot:...	Gerard Kelly	Raymond Briggs Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs is an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist, and author who has achieved critical and popular success among adults and children...	25 August - 7 October 1989
Road	David Hayman	Jim Cartwright Jim Cartwright Jim Cartwright is an English dramatist, born at Farnworth, Lancashire, England. Cartwright's first play, Road, won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the BBC....	8 May - 3 June 1989
The Sash	Gerard Kelly	Hector MacMillan	24 January - 25 April 1989
Long Story Short	Finlay Welsh	Donald Campbell, James Graham, Tom Leonard, Aonghas Macneacoil, Ann Marie Di Mambro Ann Marie Di Mambro Ann Marie Di Mambro is a Scottish playwright and television screenwriter of Italian extraction. Her theatre plays have been performed widely; they are also published individually and in collections and are studied in schools for the Scottish curriculum's Higher Drama and English.- Biographical... , 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	John Haswell	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 Johnny Noble -Further reading:...	David Scase	Ewan MacColl
Men Should Weep	Giles Havergal	Ena Lamont Stewart
The Catch	John McGrath	John McGrath	15 August - 7 November 1981
Blood Red Roses	John McGrath	John McGrath	18 August - 8 November 1980
Swings and Roundabouts 26th	John McGrath	John McGrath	February - 22 March 1980
Joe's Drum	Campbell Morrison	John McGrath	21 May - 22 June 1979
Thought for Today	David Maclennan	Company collaboration	10 February - 16 March 1977
Honour Your Partners	David Maclennan	David Maclennan	27 January - 10 April 1976
Little Red Hen	John McGrath	John McGrath	16 September - 13 December 1975
The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil is a play written in the 1970s by the popular Liverpudlian playwright John McGrath. From 1973, beginning at a venue in Aberdeen, it was performed in a touring production in community centres around Scotland by 7:84 and other community theatre groups...	John McGrath	John McGrath	31 March - June 1973

Notable alumni

• David Tennant
  David Tennant
  David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
  
  
• Henry Ian Cusick
  Henry Ian Cusick
  Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
  
  
• Dick Gaughan
  Dick Gaughan
  Richard Peter Gaughan usually known as Dick Gaughan is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs.-Early years:...
  
  
• Douglas Henshall
  Douglas Henshall
  Douglas James Henshall is a Scottish actor probably best known for his role as Professor Nick Cutter in the British science fiction series Primeval.-Early life:...
  
  
• Steve McNicholas
  Steve McNicholas
  Steve McNicholas is an English director, composer, actor and co-founder of dance percussion act Stomp.McNicholas has worked with Cliff Hanger Theatre Co., 7:84, Covent Garden Community Theatre, Pookiesnackenburger Buskers and the Flying Pickets. His work in television includes Rowan Atkinson's Mr...
  
  
• Cathy-Ann McPhee
  Cathy-Ann McPhee
  Catherine-Ann MacPhee is a Gaelic singer.-Cathy-Ann the actress:Catherine-Ann was born on 21 November 1959 in the Island of Barra, Scotland. There she grew up with Scottish Gaelic as her first language. Electricity did not reach the island until she was six. At the age of five she started singing...
  
  
• Hilton McRae
  Hilton McRae
  Hilton McRae is a Scottish actor in the fields of theatre, television and film.-Career:McRae was part of the radical theatre group 7:84 before graduating from Edinburgh University, and by 1977 he had joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. His most mainstream American film was his role as Green...
  
  
• Alexander Morton
  Alexander Morton
  Alexander "Sandy" Morton is a Scottish actor.-Acting career:Morton trained in London at the Central School of Speech and Drama from 1965–68 and is well known for his roles in several leading drama series, such as Taggart, Second Sight, Between the Lines, Minder, and Casualty, movies such as...
  
  
• Peter Mullan
  Peter Mullan
  Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...
  
  
• David Hayman
  David Hayman
  David Hayman is a Scottish film and television actor and director, best known for his role as DCS Mike Walker in ITV drama Trial and Retribution. He also a prominent supporter of the SNP's call for Scottish independence....
  
  
• Bill Paterson
• Alex Norton
  Alex Norton
  Alexander Hugh "Alex" Norton is a Scottish actor. He is probably best known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart, and Eddie in the Renford Rejects....
  
  
• Laurance Rudic
  Laurance Rudic
  Laurance Rudic is a British theatre artist best known for his long association as a leading member of the Glasgow Citizens Theatre company....
  
  
• The Flying Pickets
  The Flying Pickets
  The Flying Pickets are a British a cappella vocal group, who had a Christmas number one hit in 1983 in the UK Singles Chart with their cover of Yazoo's track "Only You".-History:...
  
  
• Valerie Lilley
  Valerie Lilley
  Valerie Lilley is a Northern Irish actress who has played many television roles on dramas such as Doctors and Grange Hill.Lilley currently appears on Channel 4's serial drama Shameless....