A letter to the Big Yin: Billy Connolly tribute play comes to Glasgow for 3 nights only

Billy Connolly needs no introduction. He is a national treasure. From the shipyards of the Clydeside to his trailblazing and extraordinary stage and movie exploits, he is woven into Scottish culture.

Everyone has a Billy Story. An expert team of story gatherers has created a collection of these moving and hilarious tales. Gary McNair, one of Scotland’s best theatre makers, has turned these stories into a special show celebrating the Big Yin and what he means to the people of Scotland.

Dear Billy is a unique touring production that has evolved on the road. It has travelled the length and breadth of Scotland, visiting local theatres, art and community centres, building up to this final run at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow, having gathered some stories along the way.  

The production was announced last year to mark Billy Connolly’s 80th birthday year.

Gary has hit the road with musicians, collecting more stories from audience members which have been woven into the show as the tour progressed.

Each show offers a unique chance to audiences, to laugh, sing, and celebrate the man and the legend.   The King’s Theatre is the final stop on the tour, and due to popular demand, the Gallery in the Theatre has been opened up for audiences, with tickets available at £13 pounds.

There are also £5 tickets available to those aged 16-25, or claiming Universal Credit, as part of the ‘Theatre for a Fiver scheme’. Full details can be found here.

Billy Connolly hails from Glasgow, and was born at 69 Dover Street, Anderson, “on the linoleum, three floors up, at six o’clock in the evening”. He went on to work in the shipyards along the Clyde before pursuing a career in folk music, and eventually comedy.

One of Connolly’s most famous folk songs is ‘I Wish I Was In Glasgow’, where he sings that “Glasgow gave me more than it ever took away and prepared me for life on the road.”

In the 1970s, Connolly performed a two-week run of sold out shows at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow, where Dear Billy‘s tour comes to an end. Billy described the King’s Theatre as feeling “like you were performing inside a wedding cake”.

For the whole two week run, the infamous Pastor Jack Glass stood outside condemning Billy as a blasphemer.

Gary McNair said:“It’s an honour to be doing this show. To take on a subject and a figure as beloved by the public as Billy, with our National Theatre is a very proud moment indeed and one that I will cherish.

“It has been a joyous production to be a part of with so many wonderful artists involved in its research and development.  I hope we can continue that feeling of joy when we get on the road and share it with audiences up and down the country.

“There will be a seat for Billy every night and we hope he can come along and see just what he means to the people of Scotland.”

Gary McNair is a Glasgow based writer and performer. He is a three-time Fringe First winner and has produced work for and with many of Scotland’s major theatre companies.

His plays have been translated and performed all over the world, from Germany to Japan, from New York to New Zealand.

Gary’s work includes A Gambler’s Guide to Dying, Square Go (co-written with Kieran Hurley); McGonagall’s Chronicles Which Will Be Remembered for a Very Long Time, Donald Robertson Is Not a Stand-Up Comedian, After The Cuts, Letters to Morrissey and Locker Room Talk. These plays are published by Methuen.