Last night’s screening of 1974’s The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil on BBC ALBA proved to be a popular one, both on ReelScotland and on Twitter.
Our story announcing the rare repeat of the BBC Play for Today, which looks at Scotland’s treatment through the centuries by the gentry and foreign oil companies, was tweeted hundreds of times during the week, while last night we watched as viewers accompanied the late night screening on Twitter.
Due to rights issues, the film isn’t available on iPlayer, meaning watching it live or recording it was the only way to see it.
We’ve pulled together a timeline showing how the screening was promoted through the week and how viewers reacted to the play, which celebrates its 40th anniversary next year. We’re now hoping the BBC reschedules the film for a better timeslot and considers running more archive material on BBC ALBA in the coming months.
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A wonderful opportunity last night to watch an incredible piece of Scotland’s history. I saw this play over 30 years ago and was moved then, I saw it last night it was incredible and a must for all Scots to watch.
The tragedy of the Clearances, ethnic cleansing, land grabbing and exploitation and the misuse of the land by the rich and oil companies is still relevant today.
This play is an incredible piece of history and should be shown in all the Scottish Schools.
Many thanks for another chance to see such a magnificent play, with so much of it so relevant to Scotland today.