THE exploration of Scottish identity and the seemingly endless, impossible quest to define it satisfactorily has been at the centre of the concept of a Scottish national theatre for more than a century.

In its seven-year existence, the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) as a "theatre without walls" has produced numerous hits, engaged with a great variety of audiences throughout Scotland and taken two of its most popular productions across three continents. This very success presents a considerable challenge to its new director, Laurie Sansom, not least because he arrives with a background in English theatre at a time when concern about the lack of native Scots heading arts organisations has been a subject of public contention.

On the evidence of the shows announced for his first season, he has picked up the baton from Vicky Featherstone with the firm intention of engaging with current issues and a wide range of writers, performers and audiences.

Political theatre is divisive but there can be no dodging the dominant issue of the referendum. Mr Sansom has set himself a tough test with his inaugural production. The Great Don't Know Show should retain political even-handedness, make the debate currently grounded in the sterility of assertion and counter-assertion meaningful, while also being entertaining. He asppointed David Greig, the writer whose considerable body of success ranges from the NTS's Dunsinane to the new stage musical version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and David MacLennan, whose pedigree stretches from the ground-breaking 7:84 tours to the highly successful A Play, a Pie and a Pint series of lunchtime shows, to oversee the opposing camps. Consequently, he has put the show into highly competent hands. Consisting of a series of songs, sketches, rants and dramas, it will be sufficiently flexible to be adapted to different audiences.

Both The Great Don't Know Show and the second new show, Rantin, by Kieran Hurley, (which will also feature singer songwriters, explore different Scottish identities and tour nationally) seem designed to continue the flexible ways of working that have resulted from the peripatetic model of theatre not tied to a particular building.

A true national theatre must not only provide a stage for new plays and a platform to air current issues but also a vehicle for a wide range of writing and ideas. News of a major new drama is particularly welcome in straitened times. Arts organisations reliant on public funds have been in the front line for cuts in many local authorities. NTS is fortunate that, like the other national companies in Scotland, it is funded directly from the Scottish Government. It has already achieved a remarkable degree of both critical acclaim and popularity in a short time and the programme announced so far by its second artistic director augurs well for building on that.

NTS can succeed in being a national theatre only with support from the public. With so many still undecided about independence, The Great Don't Know Show ought to be just the ticket.