The Scottish Executive’s announcement in 2003 establishing the National Theatre of Scotland was widely greeted as setting the seal on a strikingly fertile period for Scottish drama – not least by virtue of the fact that the new institution is pioneering a commissioning-based model previously untried in any other country. The adoption of this format, as many have argued, reflects the prior – and hard-won – existence of a dynamic, de facto ‘national theatre’ in the form of Scotland’s touring and building-based companies, on whose effort and investment the very proposal for an official national body was squarely based.

Historically, theatre in Scotland may have struggled in the shadow of the world-renowned English stage, as well as its own domestic obstacles, but in many respects those very adversities have helped to cultivate the distinctive strengths of Scottish drama, from its irrepressible, often subversive music-hall and variety traditions to the versatility of its actors; from its strong tradition of social engagement to the innovative ambition of today’s Scottish playwrights in exploring core contemporary themes such as identity, belonging and marginalisation.