SCOTLAND’S most famous fictional family The Broons will take to the stage in Glasgow to celebrate 80 years of the iconic cartoon strip.
The famous Glebe Street residents have appeared in comic form every week since 1936 but now Broons fans will be able to enjoy their antics on the stage for the very first time.
A spokeswoman for Glasgow’s Theatre Royal confirmed that they would be hosting the production, written by playwright Rob Drummond, in November.
He said: “We are thrilled to be honouring these much-loved characters and bringing them to life on stage.
“It will be filled with laughs, love and comic strip visuals, all set to a Scottish soundtrack.”
Morris Heggie, who has edited and scripted the comic since 2006 confirmed that the production will be a first on-stage outing for the family.
He told the Times: “The Broons have never been on stage before so it’s a whole new venture for them. In fact, this will be the first time they have ever ventured out of the black-and-white world of print.
“The play will be travelling around Scotland and it will generate a huge amount of interest. There’s absolutely no doubt about that.”
The comic strip was created by DC Thomson comics editor RD Low. Mr Heggie, who previously edited The Dandy, said that the reason for the family’s enduring popularity is their relatability.
“The Broons was Scotland’s first soap opera,” he said. “People relate to the characters and they care about them.
“It’s a little slice of Scottish life and people want to see what happens next. The strips are also wonderfully drawn.”
However, despite being the man who has put words in the mouths of countless characters, Mr Heggie admitted that he does have concerns over how the Broons might sound on stage.
“I can’t wait to see it on stage but I just hope it will be right. I’m slightly worried about the voices,” he said.
“You could easily set it in Glasgow, Edinburgh or Dundee and that’s not right. Everybody has an idea of how the Broons speak, but to me it’s neither west, north nor south.
“I wouldn’t want them to come out with broad Glasgow accents. Paw famously used to work in the shipyards but that’s not to say it was on the Clyde. To me, they should speak in a more general Scottish accent.”
Casting for the production, which is also set to travel to Perth, Stirling and Aberdeen is being kept firmly under wraps but until then, Broons fans are sure to be kept busy speculating about who might be taking up the mantle of Maw, Paw and the rest of the family.
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