Dear Billy
What would I do if I met him? I’d prob’ly kiss his feet. I’d prob’ly kiss his big banana feet.
If you don’t know who Billy Connolly is, ask the people of Scotland. And if you want to know about the people of Scotland, ask them about Billy Connolly.
Over the course of four years, Gary and a team of story gatherers went all over the country with their dictaphones speaking to people about the Big Yin. Many of them were experts, many his biggest fans, many delighted to recount the time they met, if only for a brief moment; for many he is the greatest of all time. But no matter what they thought, no one was short of things to say about him.
Gary then took this huge collection of moving and hilarious tales and turned them into Dear Billy, a joyous piece of theatre celebrating the Big Yin and what he means to us.
The production was written and performed by Gary McNair and directed by Joe Douglas. National Theatre of Scotland originally toured the production around Scotland in 2023. This edition was published to coincide with the second National Theatre of Scotland tour and subsequent run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival from May-August 2024.