TOMMY Sheridan's story has been told via newspaper headlines, courtroom dramas and biographies.
Now Rab C Nesbitt creator Ian Pattison has turned it into a stage play.
Columnist Tom Shields on Tommy Sheridan's historic incarnations
The production – I, Tommy – is described as a "tragi-comedy" and will begin a national tour in the autumn. Comedian and actor Des McLean, famous for his impersonations of Sheridan, will play the former politician.
Pattison says transforming Tommy Sheridan into a stage creation was a theatre journey "from Karl Marx to Coolio"– a reference to the ex-MSP's stay in the Big Brother house in January 2009.
The writer told The Herald: "The Tommy Sheridan story is quite incredible. This was a man who a few years ago was voted the Second Greatest Scot Ever, behind Sean Connery. This is a man who was lauded by public figures, journalists and voted for by people across the political spectrum. Then he finds himself in jail convicted of perjury.
"The idea of the play is to trace his life and work out how such a powerful, charismatic character can reach the point whereby his life turns into a nuclear catastrophe, with a narrative propelled by humour. Albeit very dark humour."
Pattison's script has been endorsed by actor/writer Ford Kiernan, who describes it as "hilarious and compelling".
It is based on the vast amount of material available on Sheridan, who was released from prison in January after serving one year of a three-year sentence for committing perjury during his defamation case against the News of the World. The play looks at his early life in Pollok, Glasgow, the allegiances formed, the fateful meetings and the key decisions he made which would change his life.
The complete cast is yet to be announced, although several major names are in the frame. David Hayman has declared an interest in directing the production which will visit major Scottish venues, such as Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Pattison said: "It's not a homage to Tommy Sheridan, but it highlights how he was popular enough to become First Minister of Scotland and how hubris and self-destruction managed to get in the way."
Pattison had no problem finding black comedy in the story.
He said: "That comes from Tommy's ebullience. It shines through every step along the way, from the moment he first stepped on a political platform. Such was his self-belief and conviction, he became a Messiah-like figure for the masses."
McLean became a Radio Clyde cult presenter in recent years after performing a series of spoof calls pretending to be Sheridan, resulting in sellout comedy tours and CDs.
He said: "I told Tommy a few years ago I'd appear on stage as him. At the time there were no plans, but playing Tommy had an inevitability about it.
"Now, Ian Pattison has come up with this incredibly funny script which also illuminates the whole political backdrop. It's a riveting, mind-blowing tale that runs from the creation of the Scottish Socialist Party and the political infighting through to the success story that produced six MSPs."
I, Tommy will feature central characters in Sheridan's life, including political friends and foes, his wife Gail and mother Alice, who Pattison described as "an incredibly colourful character who won't be denied her own column inches in newspapers".
Explaining the title of the play, the writer said: "It's taken from the I, Claudius notion of ego and power in political rule.
"Tommy became imperious, like so many rulers. But let's not forget how many ordinary and powerful people were carried along by his firebrand rhetoric and were ready to ignore his foibles and vote him into power.
"It's this backdrop that will hopefully make the play entertaining and funny.
"But I'd like to think I,Tommy will make people think about how their choose their leaders."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article