Commitment, Identity and Dreams of Independence in Contemporary Scottish Playwriting

International audienceThe Scottish stage and its referendum context are at the core of this paper.Debating and arguing are at the origin of the theatrical process; the Renaissance Inns of Court included this type of training in their courses. Siobhan Keenan specified that ‘In keeping with the sharp witted culture of the Inns, lawyers appear to have had a particular taste for dramatic satire, parody and topical commentary’. Centuries later, in Scotland, the same genres are still very much appreciated and used, and the September 18th 2014 referendum on independence was particularly heralded by a very important and animated debating period in which playwrights, performers, directors, and other figures of the artistic world participated actively. All felt committed, dedicated to the cause of the national and international future of Scotland, bound by duty, by their sense of responsibility and loyalty to their country. To them, their votes meant more than the sole expression of their own cultural and political opinions; to them, the freedom of Scotland was at stake, and so was their engagement for the future generations.In this paper, a few examples of how the Scottish theatrical world showed interest and commitment during the pre-referendum period are analysed through the dialogical links relating playtexts and their contexts (including socio-political real frames)