Bill Findlay (11 June 1947 – 15 May 2005) was a Scottish writer and theatre academic. As a translator, editor, critic and advocate, he made an important contribution to Scottish theatre.Corbett, John (2011), ''Translated Drama in Scotland'', in Brown, Ian (ed.) (2011), ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scottish Drama'', Edinburgh University Press, pp. 100, 101 & 105, He worked as a lecturer in the School of Drama at Edinburgh's

Queen Margaret University Queen Margaret University is a public university located wholly within the county of East Lothian on the outskirts of Musselburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Scottish Queen Saint Margaret (1045–1093). The university can trace its ...

and was a founder editor and regular contributor to the Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs magazine, ''

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 ...

''. Born in

Culross Culross (/ˈkurəs/) (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cuileann Ros'', 'holly point or promontory') is a village and former royal burgh, and parish, in Fife, Scotland. According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 395. Originally, Culross ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, Findlay attended Dunfermline High School and left home in 1965 to work as a civil servant in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He returned to Scotland in 1970 to attend Newbattle Abbey College, spending two years there before going on to

Stirling University The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthr ...

, where he graduated with a first class honours degree in English in 1976. His career in writing began when he won the McCash prize for poetry. For the first issue of '' Cencrastus'', in 1979, Findlay interviewed

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

on the relationship of

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writers and writing to the 'Imperial Cultures' of America and Britain.

Drama

In 1980, Findlay and Martin Bowman translated

Michel Tremblay Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a Canadian writer, novelist and playwright. Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood ...

's '' Les Belles Sœurs'' into contemporary Scots as ''The Guid Sisters''. Michael Boyd produced their adaptation for Glasgow's

Tron Theatre The Tron Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. The theatre was formerly known as the Tron Kirk. It began as the Collegiate Church of Our Lady and St. Anne. The Tron Theatre building is home to the Tron Theatre Company and serves as a prod ...

in 1989 and it went on to play in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1990 and at the

Centaur Theatre The Centaur Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Montreal, Quebec. It was co-founded in 1969 by Maurice Podbrey along with The Centaur Foundation for the Performing Arts. It currently has Eda Holmes as the artistic and executive director ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1992 as part of the British contribution to the city's 350th anniversary celebrations.Stevenson, Randall and Wallace, Gavin (1996), ''Scottish Theatre Since the Seventies'', Edinburgh University Press, pp. 188 - 190, It was revived by the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

and the

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...

, Edinburgh, in 2012. In his review of the play, Andrew Latimer wrote "When Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay first translated Tremblay's text into fierce Glasgow-Scots, with all the care and political attentiveness required to succeed, something vibrant, globally resonant and deeply sociological was unlocked. While still situated in the realm of

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

Canada, the language couldn't be closer to our own doorstep." In the years following the première of ''The Guid Sisters'', Bowman and Findlay translated seven other Tremblay plays into Scots: ''

Hosanna ''Hosanna'' () is a liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help.Friberg Lexicon In Christianity it is used as a cry of praise. Etymology The word ''hosanna'' (Latin ', Greek , ...

'', ''The Real Wurld?'' (Tron, 1991); ''The House Among the Stars'' (

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded as The Traverse Theatre Club in 1962 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes, Richard Demarco, Terry Lane, Andrew Muir, John Martin and Sheila Colvin. The Traverse Th ...

and

Perth Theatre Perth Theatre is an entertainment venue in Mill Street, Perth, Scotland. It opened in 1900 and was extended in the 1980s. The building is category B listed by Historic Environment Scotland, and is operated by the charitable organisation Horsec ...

, 1992); ''Forever Yours, Marie-Lou'' (LadderMan Productions for the Tron, 1994); ''

Albertine in Five Times ''Albertine in Five Times'' () is a play by Michel Tremblay."Poem-like Albertine is soporific in execution". ''The Globe and Mail'', April 10, 1985. First produced by the National Arts Centre in 1984,Barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

, 2000); and ''If Only...'' (Royal Lyceum Theatre, 2003).Bowman, Martin (2012), ''A Note from Martin Bowman'', in the programme for the Lyceum Theatre / National Theatre of Scotland production of ''The Guid Sisters'', 21 September - 13 October 2012, Lyceum Theare, Edinburgh, pp. 14 & 15 The Tron Theatre took ''The Real Wurld?'' to the Stony Brook International Theatre Festival on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1991. John Corbett has described this body of work as making an 'honorable addition' to a long tradition of translating literature in a variety of languages into Scots. Jennifer Harvie has explored the cultural and political ramifications of the intercultural exchange represented by the translation of Tremblay's work in

joual ''Joual'' () is an accepted name for the linguistic features of Quebec French that are associated with the French-speaking working class in Montreal which has become a symbol of national identity for some. ''Joual'' has historically been stigma ...

into Scots. Findlay and Bowman translated other works by Quebecois playwrights including Jeanne-Mance Delisle's ''The Reel of the Hanged Man'' (Stellar Quines, 2000). In November 2005, Michel-Marc Bouchard's ''The Skelfs'' was given a rehearsed reading at the Traverse Theatre as a memorial tribute to Findlay. On his own, Findlay undertook a number of Scots translations and adaptations, including

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

's ''The Weavers'' (

Dundee Rep Dundee Repertory Theatre, better known simply as the Dundee Rep, is a theatre and arts company in Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house with some shows co-produced by other theatres and a receiving house – hosting work from ...

, 1997),

Pavel Kohout Pavel Kohout (born 20 July 1928) is a Czech and Austrian novelist, playwright, and poet. He was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, a Prague Spring participant and dissident in the 1970s until he was not allowed to return from A ...

's ''Fire in the Basement'' (Communicado, 1998), Teresa Lubkiewicz's ''Werewolves'' (Theatre Archipelago, 1999)Radcliffe, Allan (1999)
review of ''Werewolves''
in ''The List'' 370, 23 September - 7 October 1999, p. 63, and Raymond Cousse's ''Bairn's Brothers'' ( Mull Little Theatre, 2000),. Findlay was awarded a PhD in 2000 and held a readership in the School of Drama and Creative Industries at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh. He edited and contributed the first chapter to ''A History of Scottish Theatre'' (1998). He also edited ''Scots Plays of the Seventies'' (2001), ''Frae Ither Tongues: Essays on Modern Translations into Scots'' (2004), and (with John Corbett) ''Serving Twa Maisters: An Anthology of Scots Translations of Classic Plays'' (2005). After his death in 2005,

School of Drama established a Bill Findlay Fellowship in Stage Translation in his memory.

Bibliography

* ''Interview with Margaret Atwood'', in ''Cencrastus'' No. 1, Autumn 1979, pp. 2 – 6, * ''Clydebuilt'', reviews of 7:84 Theatre Company, Scotland, ''Clydebuilt: A Season of Scottish Popular Theatre from the '20s, '30s and '40s''; Joe Corrie, ''In Time o' Strife''; and

Ena Lamont Stewart Ena Lamont Stewart (10 February 1912, Glasgow – 9 February 2006, Dalmellington) was a Scottish playwright. Life and career Stewart was the daughter of a Church of Scotland minister whose family was originally from Canada and had settled in Gl ...

, ''Men Should Weep'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), ''

'' No. 10, Autumn 1982, p. 39, * ''The Articulate Scott'', review of ''The Language of

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

'' by Graham Tulloch, in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), ''

'' No. 10, Autumn 1982, pp. 40 & 41, * ''Celtic

Omphalos An omphalos is a religious stone artefact. In Ancient Greek, the word () means "navel". Among the Ancient Greeks, it was a widespread belief that Delphi was the center of the world. According to the myths regarding the founding of the Delphic ...

'', a review of ''Translations'' by

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

, in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), ''

'' No. 12, Spring 1983, pp. 43 & 44, * ''Interview with

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth Tar ...

'', in ''Cencrastus'' No. 15, New Year 1984, pp. 30 – 36, * ''Order, Order!'', a review of ''Order and Space and Society: Architectural Form and its Context in the

Scottish Enlightenment The Scottish Enlightenment (, ) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century, Scotland had a network of parish schools in the Sco ...

'' edited by Thomas A. Markus, in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), ''

'' No. 16, Spring 1984, pp. 49 & 50, * ''At the Shrine of the Thistle'', an interview with Eric Marwick, in Lawson, Alan (ed.), ''Radical Scotland'' Aug/Sept 1985, pp. 30 & 31, * '' 7:84's Scottish Popular Play Series'', in Lawson, Alan (ed.), ''Radical Scotland'' Oct/Nov 1985, pp. 30 & 31, * ''Fun in the Gorbals'', in Lawson, Alan (ed.), ''Radical Scotland'' Dec/Jan 1986, p. 31, * ''Diaskeuasts of the Omnific Word'', in Parker, Geoff (ed.), ''Cencrastus'' No. 23, June - August 1986, pp. 48 – 52, * ''Elegiac Action'', reviews of Freeman, F.W. (1984), ''

Robert Fergusson Robert Fergusson (5 September 1750 – 17 October 1774) was a Scottish poet. After formal education at the University of St Andrews, Fergusson led a Bohemianism, bohemian life in Edinburgh, the city of his birth, then at the height of intel ...

and the Scots Humanist Compromise''; Fergusson, Robert, ''Auld Reekie'', The Scream Press, 1984; and McClure, J. Derick (ed.) (1984), ''Scotland and the Lowland Tongue'', in Parker, Geoff (ed.), ''

'' No. 23, June - August 1986, pp. 57 – 60, * Michel Tremblay, ''The Guid-Sisters'', (''Les Belles Sœurs'' translated into Scots by Bill Findlay and Martin Bowman), Exile Editions, 1988, * ''Interview with Michel Tremblay'', in ''Cencrastus'' No. 32, New Year 1989, pp. 30 – 33, * ''Talking in Tongues: Scottish Translations 1970 - 1995'', in Stevenson, Randall and Wallace, Gavin (eds.), ''Scottish Theatre since the Seventies'', pp. 186 – 197, Edinburgh University Press, 1996, * ''A History of Scottish Theatre'',(Editor), Polygon, 1998, * ''Scots Plays of the Seventies'', (Editor), Scottish Cultural Press, 2001, * ''Frae Ither Tongues: Essays on Modern Translations into Scots'', Multilingual Matters Limited, 2004, * "The Founding of a Modern Tradition: Robert Kemp's Scots translations of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

at the Gateway", in Brown, Ian (ed.) (2004), ''Journey's Beginning: the Gateway Theatre Building and Company, 1884 - 1965'', Intellect Ltd., Bristol, * (with John Corbett) ''Serving Twa Maisters: An Anthology of Scots Translations of Classic Plays'', Association for Scottish Literary Studies, 2005, * "Performances and Plays", in Clancy, Thomas Owen & Pittock, Murray (eds.) (2007), ''The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature, Volume 1: From Columba to the Union (until 1707)'',

Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...

, * ''Scottish People's Theatre: Plays by Glasgow Unity Writers'', (Editor),

Association for Scottish Literary Studies The Association for Scottish Literary Studies (ASLS) is a Scottish educational charitable organization, charity, founded in 1970 to promote and support the teaching, study and writing of Scottish literature. Its founding members included the Sco ...

, 2008, * Michel Tremblay, ''Solemn Mass for a Full Moon in Summer'', (''Messe solennelle pour une pleine lune d'été'' translated into Scots by Bill Findlay and Martin Bowman), 2017, Nick Hern Books,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Bill 20th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Scottish writers Scots-language writers Theatre in Scotland Writers from Fife Alumni of the University of Stirling 1947 births 2005 deaths