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Steve Cramer talks to John Byrne about history,
0 0 our relationship with the 1‘ 1 l I past and his new stage adaptation of his oult television hit, Tutti Frutti.
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Sometimes, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. 19 years after it was shown on television, Tutti Frutti has come to occupy a very ., special place in Scotland’s collective memory. The exuberant, hilariously dark drama, written by the inimitable Iohn Byrne and staran Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson and Richard Wilson, is now acknowledged to be one of the cultural highlights of our recent history. The six episode show has never been repeated on television, but is now being revived as a stage play in the National Theatre of Scotland’s most populist production yet. As Scotland prepares to go back to the Frutti, Steve Cramer looks at the myths surrounding the series, and talks to the cast and crew about updating a classic for the stage. Illustrations by John Byrne.
18 THE LIST 7—21 Sep 2006