Style and Technique: Mixing Fiction and Fact

Style and Technique: Mixing Fiction and Fact

Overview

  • The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil adeptly uses a blend of historical fact and fiction to engage audiences and communicate important socio-political messages.
  • This style allows the playwright to weave together historical narratives that span centuries, grounding the contemporary issues addressed in the play in historical context.

Technique

  • The structure of the play is episodic, moving between different periods and places, each of which works to highlight a specific issue related to exploitation and displacement.
  • The characters in the play are often composite figures, combining characteristics from historical figures and fictional characters to emphasise their symbolic nature.
  • Real historical events and characters such as the Clearances, represented by Patrick Sellar, are interwoven with fictional counterparts.

Function

  • The mixing of fiction and fact allows the play to explore bigger themes of social justice, economic exploitation, and historical oppression.
  • The fact-based elements give the play its historical authenticity, drawing attention to important historical events and their impact on the current context of the Highlands.
  • Fictional elements provide emotional engagement, making it more relatable and engaging for the audience.

Impact

  • This style invites the audience to reflect on history, revealing the connections between the past and present issues faced by the Highlanders and their land.
  • The fact-fusion approach makes the issues discussed in the play relevant, highlighting the pervasive nature of exploitation and its continuity over time.
  • The blending of fact and fiction also supports the play’s satiric element, adding a layer of humour to the critique of established power structures and greed.

Significance

  • The mixing of fact and fiction is, therefore, a powerful narrative tool that enables The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil to deliver a compelling critique of exploitation and injustice.
  • This innovative approach to storytelling has marked the play as a significant contribution to political theatre, providing a template for discussing complex socio-political issues through dramatic work.