Five great plays…for teaching history through drama

by Peter Arnott

Cast: 4f, 3m

Synopsis: On Sunday 28 December 1879, the unthinkable happened. Battered by a ferocious storm, the Tay Bridge collapsed. A powerful ensemble piece, the play gives a whole new perspective on this famous bridge disaster, telling the poignant and unexpected stories of the passengers on the train that night. It won Best New Play at The Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland in 2020. Its companion piece, The Signalman, looks at events from a different angle, through a taut monologue.

Why it's great for teaching history: Tay Bridge examines the lives behind the disaster of 1879, when the bridge collapsed as a train from Burntisland to Dundee crossed it, killing all 75 people aboard. Who were they? What were they escaping, and where did they believe they were heading? Tay Bridge tells the stories behind this terrible disaster.