Robert McLellan

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1907–1985) was a

Scottish renaissance The Scottish Renaissance ( gd, Ath-bheòthachadh na h-Alba; sco, Scots Renaissance) was a mainly literary movement of the early to mid-20th century that can be seen as the Scotland, Scottish version of modernism. It is sometimes referred to as ...

dramatist, writer and poet and a leading figure in the twentieth century movement to recover Scotland’s distinctive theatrical traditions. He found popular success with plays and stories written in his native Scots tongue and is regarded, alongside William Lorimer, as one of the most important modern exponents of fine prose in the language. In addition to his literary career, McLellan saw active service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, served as an elected councillor for the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

, his adopted home after marriage, and was active variously in the

League of Dramatists The League of Dramatists in the United Kingdom was an organisation founded in 1931 by George Bernard Shaw under the aegis of the Society of Authors with the purpose to advocate on behalf of practising playwrights A playwright or dramatist is a ...

, the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...

and the Lallans Society. In the early 1960s he served briefly as elected President for the District Councils Association for Scotland. He was also a frequent campaigner in defence of local heritage and a dedicated

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

. McLellan today in literature is probably best remembered for the historical comedies, ''

Jamie the Saxt ''Jamie the Saxt'' is a four act play in Scots by the Scottish dramatist, Robert McLellan, first produced by Curtain Theatre The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Hewett Street, Shoreditch (within the modern London Bor ...

'' and ''The Flouers o Edinburgh'', and for his short story cycle, '' Linmill Stories'', but his stage-writing career was a long and experimental one spanning over thirty years of crucial development for Scottish theatrical self-expression. In his later career he also wrote for radio and television. He was awarded a

Civil List Pension Pensions in the United Kingdom, whereby United Kingdom tax payers have some of their wages deducted to save for retirement, can be categorised into three major divisions - state, occupational and personal pensions. The state pension is based on ...

in 1968 for "services to literature in Scotland" and received the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1978.

Early career

Robert McLellan began life as a dramatist in the early 1930s. Much of his early work was first produced by the short-lived

Curtain Theatre The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Hewett Street, Shoreditch (within the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It opened in 1577, and continued staging plays until 1624. The Curtain was ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, a dynamic and ambitious subscription company founded in 1933 and based in the university district of the city. This early period was a prolific and experimental one for the playwright. Throughout the decade he was effectively Curtain's "house dramatist", trying out various genres and modes in both Scots and English for performance before a dedicated and vocal "

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

" audience. Some of these early works in short form, such as ''Jeddart Justice'' and ''The Changeling'', were also picked up by other non-professional companies around the country and entered in the annual

Scottish Community Drama Association The Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) is an association of amateur dramatic clubs throughout Scotland. It was first founded in 1926. Amateur theatre companies in Scotland have generally presented repertoire in English, Lowland Scots ...

competitions of the era. McLellan's first notable success came in 1936 with Curtain's production of his full-length three-act comedy, ''Toom Byres'', set among the

Border reivers Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...

in the early days of the reign of

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. This was quickly followed in 1937 by ''

'', set in the same period but this time in an urban milieu, its action taking place in and around the court in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and featuring the king himself in his prime. This latter production, with the young Duncan Macrae famously creating a sensation in the title role, is generally regarded as the one which confirmed McLellan's reputation as a comic dramatist of substance in Scots. McLellan is known to have been briefly resident in England as a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

at some point around this time, but for whatever reason he soon came back to Scotland, marrying in 1938 and settling on the Isle of Arran. He continued to work with Curtain in mind, but his last production with the company, ''Portrait of an Artist'', this time written in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

with a contemporary setting, met with less critical acclaim. For his next works, ''The Smuggler'' and ''The Bogle'', both set in the eighteenth century, the playwright made a return to historical Scots comedy. In the event, ''The Bogle'' (later renamed ''Torwatletie''), would wait until 1946 for its debut production. By the time McLellan had completed the play, early in 1940, Curtain theatre was no more, having broken up after the declaration of war in 1939. The war years would entail a significant interruption in McLellan's developing career as a playwright.

War years

By now a first-time father, McLellan enlisted with the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1940. He served for the next five years as an anti-aircraft gunner in defence around the British Isles (outwith Scotland) and on the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

. Having set drama aside, he turned instead to poetry and short story, modes of writing which he found more conducive within the context of military life. It was also during his years in the services, in circa 1943, while stationed on the Faroes, that he met the poet Hans Djurhuus. McLellan as a writer in Scots later publicly acknowledged the inspiration he derived from his meetings with Djurhuus, a writer engaged in a parallel effort to forge new literary use for his own native Faroese. But during this time, the playwright had never lost sight of his principal career. As soon as hostilities ended in

May 1945 The following events occurred in May 1945: May 1, 1945 (Tuesday) * Reichssender Hamburg's Flensburg radio station announced that Adolf Hitler had fallen in Berlin while "fighting for Germany". President Karl Dönitz gave a broadcast that nigh ...

, while still in uniform but freed of his duties, McLellan straightway composed the

verse drama Verse drama is any drama written significantly in verse (that is: with line endings) to be performed by an actor before an audience. Although verse drama does not need to be ''primarily'' in verse to be considered verse drama, significant portion ...

''The Carlin Moth'' during the fortnight after

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

, by his own account, in the 'hot attic' of a mansion near

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is a ...

on the

Suffolk coast Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowestof ...

where his unit was stationed at the time. By combining the poetry with his drama, this resumption of his stage work had also added a new mode to his writing.

Post-war years

After

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...

in 1946, McLellan returned to Arran. During his absence, the war years had seen developments in the Scottish theatre scene, such as the formation of Unity Players in 1941, and

James Bridie James Bridie (3 January 1888 in Glasgow – 29 January 1951 in Edinburgh) was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and physician whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor.Daniel Leary (1982) ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: ...

's founding of Glasgow Citizens in 1943, so McLellan perhaps returned with better hopes for a more professionalised institutional culture for new Scottish work. In any event, he hit the ground running. That same year, the newly composed ''Carlin Moth'' was produced on radio; the debut production of ''Torwatletie'', completed five years previously but kept on ice until his return from the war, was mounted by Unity (subsequently taken in 1947 to the first "

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

", then on to London’s Embassy Theatre in 1948); and McLellan himself was already embarked on composing his next major play, '' The Flouers o Edinburgh''. He also by this time had ''The Cailleach'', a short Scots play with a more sombre tone, under his belt. McLellan conceived ''Flouers o Edinburgh'' first and foremost as a professional vehicle for Bridie's recently founded Citizens, but in the later 1940s the two men began to have differences. McLellan refused permission to tour ''Jamie the Saxt'' to London after Bridie insisted on license to make re-writes. Then, in 1948, Bridie's Citizens rejected ''Flouers''. Although Unity once again mounted the debut production, they did not achieve the same success as with ''Torwatletie'', and perhaps it was the radio production in 1951, a few months after Bridie's death, in which the play was finally "discovered". Either way, despite the initial resistance from Citizens, ''Flouers o Edinburgh'' went on to become one of McLellan's most popular and frequently revived works.

1950s

Citizens did finally mount two McLellan debuts: the historical study, '' Mary Stewart'', in 1950, and ''The Road to the Isles'', a contemporary satire of land activism in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

, in 1954. These new plays did not win the same popular success as previous plays, but McLellan's established works continued to be a popular staple among the country's thriving amateur drama clubs and associations in the years before television. With Scotland's more formal theatrical institutions of the 1950s, on the other hand, McLellan became increasingly frustrated - a frustration he publicly expressed - seeing them as often resistant to, and misapprending of, Scottish theatrical values, especially around the matter of language. In the course of the decade McLellan increasingly turned instead to

broadcast radio Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-b ...

, establishing a good working relationship with the Scottish Home Service producer James Crampsie. Crampsie was more in tune with McLellan's needs and aspirations. As well as mounting radio adaptations of his work, he commissioned new writing, including works for broadcast around

Burns night A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), the author of many Scots poems. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, 25 January, known as Burns Night ( sc ...

, and three substantial series of dramatisations of episodes from Scottish history for schools broadcasts. One of the next highlights of McLellan's career was the broadcast of his award-winning verse drama for radio in 1957, ''Sweet Largie Bay'', with its beautiful and elegaic evocation of generational change and decline in island life. At the close of the decade, ''Rab Mossgiel'', commissioned by Crampsie to mark the Burns bicentenary in 1959, was the first of the playwright's works to be broadcast on

Scottish television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is the ...

1960s and after

Legacy

Biography

Robert McLellan was born in 1907 at the home of his maternal grandparents in Linmill, a fruit farm close to

Kirkfieldbank Kirkfieldbank is a small village and parish in Scotland, on the banks of the River Clyde. It is close to the town of Lanark and is part of the current South Lanarkshire local authority. The village of New Lanark is also close by, some ten minu ...

in the prosperous fruit-growing

Clyde Valley The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

region of

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

. His father was John McLellan, a printer by trade, who circa 1912 founded, and thereafter ran, the Allander Press in

Milngavie Milngavie ( ; gd, Muileann-Ghaidh) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Milngav ...

, still at that time a detached township to the north of

. Although the young McLellan grew up in Milngavie, he generally spent his summer holidays the Lanarkshire farm of his grandparents, and it was those times in the immediate pre-First World War period, which later became the inspiration for his ''Linmill Stories''. After attending

Bearsden Academy Bearsden Academy is a non-denominational, state school, state secondary school in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. History Bearsden Cross site (1911–1958) In 1911, the school was situated on the corner of A808 road (Great Britain), R ...

in Glasgow, McLellan entered the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

as an undergraduate in moral philosophy in 1925. He did not complete his degree, possibly abandoning his studies after the death of his mother from tuberculosis in 1928. McLellan met his future wife, Kathleen Heys from

Grindleton Grindleton is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of the English county of Lancashire, formerly in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Its 3,700 acres sit within the Forest of Bowland. The population of the civil ward taken at the ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, sometime before 1933 while rambling in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

. They married in 1938, settling in Arran where they lived modestly on McLelllan's income as a playwright, latterly supplemented in the post-war years by the produce of his

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

and Kathleen’s hand crafts. McLellan died suddenly at home in High Corrie on the day before his 78th birthday in January 1985. He is buried on Arran.

List of works by Robert McLellan

Stage plays

Dates of first productions: * 1934 - ''Jeddart Justice, A Border Comedy in One Act'' (Curtain Theatre, Glasgow) * 1934 - ''Tarfessock, A Tragedy in Three Acts'', set in the

Kilsyth Hills The Campsie Fells (also known as the Campsies; Scottish Gaelic: ''Monadh Chamaisidh'') are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching east to west from Denny Muir to Dumgoyne in Stirlingshire and overlooking Strathkelvin to the south. The ...

; a play which McLellan subsequently rejected (Curtain Theatre, Glasgow) * 1934 - ''Flight of Graidhne, A Celtic Folk-tale in One Act'', drama set in 3rd century Ireland at Tara (first production details not traced) * 1935 - ''The Changeling, A Border Comedy in One Act'' (Clydebank Little Theatre) * 1935 - ''Cian and Ethlin, A Play in Five Scenes'', a 'Druid allegory' (Curtain Theatre, Glasgow) * 1936 - ''Toom Byres, A Comedy of the Scottish Borders'', McLellan's first successful full-length play (Curtain Theatre, Glasgow) * 1937 - ''

, or English Siller, A Historical Comedy in Four Acts'' (Curtain Theatre, Glasgow; with Duncan Macrae in the title role) * 1939 - ''Portrait of an Artist'', contemporary drama of bohemian life set in Glasgow (Curtain Theatre, Glasgow) * 1939 - ''The Smuggler, A Folk Play in One Act'', set on Arran (Whiting Bay Drama Club) * 1946 - ''Torwatletie, or The Apothecary, A Comedy in Three Acts'', originally completed in 1940 under the title ''The Bogle''; set on the Scottish

Solway Coast The Solway Coast is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in northern Cumbria, United Kingdom. It incorporates two areas of coastline along the Solway Firth, the first running from just north of the city of Carlisle, at the estuary of ...

(Unity Players at the Queen's Theatre, Glasgow, with

Roddy McMillan Roddy McMillan OBE (23 March 1923 – 9 July 1979) was a Scottish actor and playwright, possibly most famous for his comedy role as Para Handy for BBC Scotland's television series, ''The Vital Spark''. He also played the lead role in Edwa ...

in the title role; subsequently taken to the first '

' in 1947, and to London's Embassy Theatre in 1948) * c.1946 - ''The Cailleach, A Tragedy in One Act'', set on Arran under the

Cromwellian Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

occupation (first production details uncertain) * 1948 - '' The Flouers o Edinburgh, A Comedy of the Eighteenth Century in Three Acts'', (Unity Players at the Kings Theatre, Edinburgh, as part of the 'Fringe' events around the second

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially classical music) and the performing arts are i ...

) * 1950 - '' Mary Stewart, A Historical Drama in Five Acts'' (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow;

Lennox Milne Lennox may refer to: Places * Lennox (district), Scotland *Lennox and Addington, electoral district in Ontario, Canada ** Lennox (electoral district), a former electoral district in Ontario (1867–1904) *Lennox County, Ontario, Canada *Lennox, ...

in the title role) * 1950 - ''An Tàcharan'' translation of ''The Changeling'' into

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

(pamphlet) * 1950 - ''A’ Chailleach'', translation of ''The Cailleach'' into Gaelic (pamphlet) * 1954 - ''The Road to the Isles, A Modern Comedy in Three Acts'', set in the contemporary Scottish Highlands (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow; cast included actors

and

Fulton Mackay William Fulton Beith Mackay (12 August 1922 – 6 June 1987) was a Scottish actor and playwright, best known for his role as prison officer Mr. Mackay in the 1970s television sitcom ''Porridge''. Early life Mackay was born in Paisley, Renfr ...

) * 1962 - ''Young Auchinleck, A Comedy in Three Acts'',

production; biographical drama of the young

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...

, (Gateway Theatre, Edinburgh) * 1964 - ''Pageant for the Burgh of Kirkintilloch'' (community production mounted in

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; sco, Kirkintulloch; gd, Cair Cheann Tulaich) is a town and former barony burgh in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. ...

) * 1967 - ''The Hypocrite'', historical drama (Edinburgh Lyceum; cast included actors Walter Carr,

Leonard Maguire Leonard Maguire (26 May 1924 – 12 September 1997) was a British actor, born in England but most renowned in Scotland where he lived for much of his life. Maguire had a long career, beginning in the 1940s. He died in 1997, aged 73, after a leng ...

Tom Conti Tommaso Antonio Conti (born 22 November 1941) is a Scottish actor, theatre director, and novelist. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1979 for his performance in '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' and was nominated for the Academy Aw ...

, Richard Wilson) * 1972 - ''A Pageant of Dumbarton'', (community production mounted in

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, adapted from commission completed by McLellan in 1970)

Work on Radio

* 1944 - ''Perrie Becomes Captain'', short story (BBC Home Service) * 1946 - ''The Carlin Moth, An Island Fairy Tale in Four Scenes'', verse drama originally conceived for the stage but first produced on radio (Scottish Home Service) * 1951 - first radio adaptation of ''The Flouers o Edinburgh'' (Scottish Home Service) * 1954 - ''As Ithers See Us'', documentary drama about James Currie, first biographer of Robert Burns (Scottish Home Service, produced by James Crampsey) * 1954 - ''This is My Country'', first of a number of series of historical dramatisations which McLellan wrote for schools radio over the next ten years (Scottish Home Service) * 1956 - ''Sweet Largie Bay, A Dramatic Poem'', verse drama for radio, awarded the 1956

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. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

Award for Poetry (Scottish Home Service) * 1959 - ''Rab Mossgiel, A Play in Three Acts'', biographical drama commissioned by the BBC for the

Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

bicentenary (Scottish Home Service) * 1960 - first series of ''Linmill Stories'', narrated by James Gibson, recording broadcast on radio (Scottish Home Service)Elder, Michael (2003), ''What do You do During the Day?'', Eldon Productions, p. 136, * 1962 - ''Balloon Tytler'' biographical radio drama in Scots about Scottish polymath

James Tytler James Tytler (17 December 1745 – 11 January 1804) was a Scottish apothecary and the editor of the second edition of ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Tytler became the first person in Britain to fly by ascending in a hot air balloon (1784). A grou ...

(Scottish Home Service, produced by James Crampsey) * 1964 - ''Waverley Gallery'', series of stories from

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...

dramatised for radio (Scottish Home Service) * 1965 - ''The Old Byre at Clashmore'', set in the Scottish Highlands (Scottish Home Service, produced by

Stewart Conn Stewart Conn (born 1936) is a Scottish poet and playwright, born in Hillhead, Glasgow.''Galaxy 2'' Maryhill Writers Group (2004) His father was a minister at Kelvinside Church but the family moved to Kilmarnock, Ayrshire in 1941 when he was five. ...

)

Work on Television

* 1959 - television adaptation of ''Rab Mossgiel'', the palay first broadcast on radio earlier that year (BBC TV) * 1965 - television adaptation of Young Auchinleck, the play first produced at the 1962 Edinburgh International Festival (BBC TV) * 1965 - ''Arran Burn, A Poem for Television'', read by

Iain Cuthbertson Iain Cuthbertson (4 January 1930 – 4 September 2009) was a Scottish character actor and theatre director. He was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive gravelly, heavily accented voice. He had lead roles in ''The Border ...

, (BBC TV) * 1978 - filmed interview by Alexander Scott of McLellan at home for ''

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...

'' (BBC TV) * 1978 - ''The Daftie'', film version by Micheal Alexander of a story from the Linmill cycle (BBC TV) * 1979 - ''The Donegals'', film version by Micheal Alexander of a story from the Linmill cycle (BBC TV)

Non fiction

* 1970 - ''The Isle of Arran'', full-length historical and geographical survey of the Isle of Arran * 1977 - ''The Ancient Monuments of Arran'',

HMSO The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the Un ...

guide book

Unproduced work

* 1959 - ''Kirstan and the Vikar, A Parable in Scots'', drama in Scots set on a fictional island under German occupation in World War II (completed in stage and radio versions) * 1960 - ''Kilellan'', series of completed television

sit-com A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

episodes set on Arran (offered to the new STV company in Glasgow but never produced) * 1964 - ''A Cure for the Colonel'', episode for '' Dr Finlay’s Casebook'' (completed but not produced) * 1965 - ''Mum and Sally'', short drama written for television * 1967 - ''Progress to Extinction'', drafts for a television documentary on island depopulation * 1970 - ''My Dear Dear Sister'', long draft play about William and

Dorothy Wordsworth Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had no a ...

Posthumous collections

Although individual plays and stories were regularly published throughout McLellan's lifetime, collected editions of his works only appeared posthumously: * 1990 - '' Linmill Stories'', McLellan's short-story cycle in Scots, * 2014 - ''Playing Scotland’s Story: Collected Dramatic Works'', McLellan's principal plays

Reviews

* Ross, Raymond J. (1983), ''Directed Irony'', which includes a review of ''Collected Plays'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), ''

Cencrastus ''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...

'' No. 11, New Year 1983, pp. 45 7 46,

References

* Donald Campbell, ''Playing for Scotland, A History of the Scottish Stage, 1715-1965'' (Mercat Press, 1996) * Alastair Cording, ''A Dramatic Life: Robert McLellan'', in Lindsay, Maurice (ed.), ''The Scottish Review: Arts and Environment'' 9, (

Scottish Civic Trust Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, 1978), pp. 27 – 32, * Colin Donati (ed), ''Robert McLellan, Playing Scotland's Story: Collected Dramatic Works'' (Luath Press, 2013) * Joy Hendry (ed), '' Chapman'', double issue 43-4, 'Scottish Theatre Today' (Chapman, 1986) * David Hutchison, 1976: ''The Modern Scottish Theatre'' (Molendinar, 1977)

External links

Information on the 2007 Finborough Theatre production of Jamie the Saxt
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLellan, Robert 1907 births 1985 deaths Scottish Renaissance 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scots-language writers Scottish short story writers Lallans poets Scots-language poets Alumni of the University of Glasgow British Army personnel of World War II Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Bearsden Academy 20th-century Scottish poets Scottish male poets 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century British male writers Royal Artillery soldiers