That 70s Story:  Memories of 1970s Aberdeen Wanted for a New Play

Playwright Morna Young and Aberdeen Arts Centre Director Amy Liptrott are hosting a drop-in session to gather memories, stories and anecdotes for an original piece of theatre.

From boogie nights to disco, polyester to bellbottoms, what was it like to live in 1970s Aberdeen? We want to hear your stories of what life was like around the town in an era of change.

Award-winning playwright Morna Young alongside Amy Liptrott, Director of Aberdeen Arts Centre, are seeking local help to build a picture of Aberdeen fifty years ago as part of their research and development of a new play set in the 1970s, inspired by the Grill Bar protest in 1973.

'Drop-In' Memories Session on 6th June

There will be a drop-in session hosted by Morna and Amy on Thursday 6th June 2024, 1pm-4pm at The Grill on Union Street — come along anytime during that time for a chat.

We want to know:

• What were you wearing in Aberdeen in the 1970s?

• Where were the hots spots to hang out?

• Who were the brilliant bands around town?

• What do you remember about the Grill Bar protest in 1973?

From stories of misspent youths to places gone but never forgotten, no story or memory is too insignificant. We’d also welcome any photographs of Union Street, town life, or Aberdeen itself.

Come for a blether, share your tales, and help us to celebrate oor hame toon with a story sharing session at the Grill Bar, Union Street.

If unavailable to come along to the event, we’d also welcome any stories or photographs sent to: thegrill@aberdeenartscentre.com

The Project

Morna Young is currently a recipient of an SSP@50 Fellowship, celebrating fifty years of the Scottish Society of Playwrights, and is partnered with Aberdeen Arts Centre to research, develop and write a new play inspired by the 1973 Grill Bar protest.

The Team

Morna Young
Morna Young is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter, named ‘Scots Writer of the Year’ at the inaugural Scots Language Awards. Most recently, she won the Peggy Ramsay/Film 4 Playwriting Bursary (Traverse).

Lost at Sea, Morna’s debut full-length play in 2019, won two Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS), and was a finalist in the Herald’s Culture Awards. She also wrote the CATS-winning Runrig musical The Stamping Ground (Eden Court / Raw Material) and the recently CATS nominated adaptation of Sunset Song (Dundee Rep / Lyceum). Other plays include Babs and Aye, Elvis (‘A Play, A Pie and A Pint’) and The Snow Queen (Lyceum).

Morna was recipient of the Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship (Aberdeen City Council, 2017), a New Playwrights Award (Playwrights' Studio, Scotland, 2014) and the ‘Tomorrow at Noon’ award for female playwrights (Jermyn Street Theatre, 2018). Her international work includes The Traverse’s ‘Scotland-in-Japan’ residency, playwright-in-residence for BATS Theatre in New Zealand for three-months and a Rome residency as part of the Muriel Spark 100 awards.

Amy Liptrott
Amy Liptrott is director, teacher and musician from Bolton. Her professional career has spanned classical music, theatre and creative facilitation.

Amy became Associate Director at Pitlochry Festival in 2019 where she directed a number of productions, including Jekyll and Hyde by Hannah Lavery, The Covid Requiem by Jo Clifford and Lesley Hart, Private Lives by Noël Coward and The Maggie Wall by Martin McCormick. She has also written and directed sound installations and supported work with Artist Development amongst various other engagement initiatives. In October 2022, she joined Aberdeen Arts Centre as their new Director.

Any Questions?

If you have any questions or want more information on this memory gathering project, contact thegrill@aberdeenartscentre.com