JUMP THE LIFE TO COME
"...that but this blow Might be the be-all and the end-all -- here, But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, We'ld jump the life to come."
The production was developed in collaboration with the Motherwell District District Council and was financially supported by Strathclyde Region.
Written by Noel Greig and directed by Iain Reekie, who also directed Twelve Angry Men, which David Tennant appeared in, while still at school, as well as directing him in Scotland Matters and Antigone.
In April of 1992 Iain was appointed Artistic Director of the 7:84.
From the programme:
"Noel Greig's play, Jump The Life To Come, was inspired by the story os Scotland's steel.
And also by conversations with the people of Motherwell and Lanarkshire, which were recorded and transcribed over a period of six months in 1991 by 7:84 Scottish People's Theatre, students at Motherwell College and by Motherwell's District Heritage Project."
"At a time when recent events have focussed our attention on Scotland's steel - Ravenscraig, Motherwell and Lanarkshire in particular - our play hounours the individual and collective lives of a community which has made a significant contribution to Scotland's industrial strength."
Click on this link to watch a quick news story about the closure.
The play features an angel of a murdered MacDonald clansman from the Glencoe massacre who has been sent to look after the war photographer Malcolm.
Malcolm's father is ill in bed following his recent redundancy from the steelworks.
At the end of the play the recordings of the interviews with the citizens were played and the actors held pictures of them up.
The production opened at Motherwell Theatre on February 6, 1992. The 7:84 then toured the production around Scotland and closed on March 15th.
Click here for a full list of the other performance dates.
Photos, reviews and cast information has been graciously provided by the National Library of Scotland and 7:84.
(Please do not copy or post without credit to the 7:84, the photographer or this website. Please do not remove the watermark.)
CAST
*appeared in the radio drama The Fifty Friends of Simon Goberschmitt