Glasgow based writer and performer and three-time Fringe First winner Gary McNair is hitting the road again with Dear Billy – A Love Letter to the Big Yin from the People of Scotland.
Billy Connolly, who needs no introduction, as he is now regarded as a national treasure who came from the shipyards of the Clydeside to his trailblazing and extraordinary stage and movie exploits so is an integral part of Scottish culture.
Everyone has a Billy story. An expert team of story gatherers has created a collection of these moving and hilarious tales. The wonderful Gary McNair has turned these stories into a special show celebrating the Big Yin and what he means to the people of Scotland.
Dear Billy is a unique touring production that evolved on the road. It travelled the length and breadth of Scotland in 2023, visiting local theatres as well as arts and community centres gathering stories along the way which were woven into the show as the tour progressed.
Audience members are welcomed to share their own Billy stories, with the possibility of those stories making it into the performance. Each show offers a unique chance for audiences to laugh, sing and celebrate the man and the legend.
The production is directed by Joe Douglas who previously collaborated with Gary on McGonagall’s Chronicles and musicians re-joining Gary on the road are Simon Liddell and Jill O’Sullivan.who writes and performs across the worlds of popular music, theatre and dance.
Gary McNair said “It was a real honour to get the opportunity to make Dear Billy last year. The creative team were a dream, and we couldn’t have been happier with the response from audiences up and down the country.
I also loved that people would share their personal stories about the Big Yin with us as we travelled. Both performing the show and receiving these stories felt like the perfect way to celebrate the special place that Billy Connolly holds in the hearts of the Scottish people.
The fact that there’s been such a hunger for the show to return and that we are able to do it so soon is wonderful. I can’t wait for us to get the band back together and take the show back on the road to head out across Scotland again to meet new audiences.”
Touring to
His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen (16th-18th May 2024);
Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow (22nd -25th May2024);
Eden Court, Inverness (28th- 29th May 2024);
Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Mon 12th -25th August 2024)
with full tour to be announced in 2024.
Access: Theatre for a Fiver tickets available for under 26’s and those on Universal Credit.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 