Original Title: ANTOLOGIJA SUVREMENE ŠKOTSKE DRAME
The fact that there has been an exceptional blossoming in Scottish literature over the last thirty years – a type of modern Renaissance reflected in drama – was not the only reason for publishing An Anthology of Contemporary Scottish Drama. The other reason lies outside the area of aesthetics – the destinies and histories of Croatia and Scotland have many points of similarity, so that their drama is readily understandable and feels familiar.
The author of the selection, Ian Brown – head of the chair of drama at Queen Margaret University College in Edinburgh – included representative work from all three decades, wanting to present to the Croatian public the basic themes which pre-occupy the Scots (de-industrialisation, utilisation of the Highlands, nationalism, sexuality, feminism and sectarianism), and also the diversity of drama styles – from naturalism to theatre innovations. Ian Brown also wrote the extensive foreword in which he gave a review of the development of Scottish art and drama.
So this book is more than a collection of plays; it allows us an insight into Scottish culture, a look through the looking glass which also tells us much about ourselves. The book was published thanks to support given by the Queen Margaret University College in Edinburg, the British Council in Zagreb, and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia.
The plays selected:
Bill Bryden: Willie Rough 1972
Liz Lochhead: Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off 1987
John Clifford: Ines de Castro 1989
Rona Munro, The Maiden Stone 1995
Stephen Greenhorn, Passing Places 1997