A PORTRAIT of the late David MacLennan, the actor, writer and producer who was at the heart of Scottish theatre for more than 40 years, has been unveiled in Glasgow.
The painting by renowned artist Sandy Moffat was commissioned by Democratic Left Scotland and is set to be displayed in Oran Mor, the venue where Mr MacLennan enjoyed success with A Play, A Pie and A Pint.
Mr MacLennan, who died in 2014 at the age of 65, co-founded the influential 7:84 Theatre Company with playwright and director John McGrath.
Set-up in 1971, 7:84 went on to produce ground-breaking work such as The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil, a play about the Highland Clearances.
Mr MacLennan also co-founded the radical Wildcat Stage Productions alongside Dave Anderson and Ferelith Lean in 1978.
Among its most famous works was Dead Liberty about the miners' strike in the mid-1980s.
A Play, A Pie and A Pint, the lunchtime theatre programme established in 2004, has attracted a raft of high profile contributors including Robbie Coltrane, Elaine C Smith, Liz Lochhead, David Greig and David Hayman.
Mr Moffat has previously sketched and painted Alasdair Gray, the author and artist whose portrait also hangs in Oran Mor, playwright Alan Bissett and political theorist Tom Nairn.
The painting was officially presented to Mr MacLennan's widow, Juliet Cadzow, by Maggie Chapman, national council member of Democratic Left Scotland and co-convener of the Scottish Green Party.
Ms Chapman described it as an honour to help mark Mr MacLennan's vast achievements.
"His early career with 7:84 and Wildcat brought political theatre to contemporary Scotland," she said.
"The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil transformed people's understanding of Scotland's history, and A Play, A Pie and A Pint continues to bring theatre to new audiences in a remarkably egalitarian way – in Glasgow and around the world.
"We celebrate great cultural figures like David MacLennan in this way to acknowledge the role of artists in reflecting upon, critiquing and recreating our society."
Stuart Fairweather, convenor of Democratic Left Scotland, said: "Democratic Left Scotland is delighted to recognise the contribution made by David MacLennan to the cultural life of Scotland.
"We commissioned Sandy Moffat's painting to add to those of Alasdair Gray, Alan Bissett and Tom Nairn, all of whom have made very substantial contributions to the Scotland we see today."
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