John McGrath spent his whole life campaigning for a popular theatre that was politically engaged, entertaining and relevant. His campaign took many forms, as a writer, director, and producer. Most famously he formed 7:84, a company named after the statistic that 7 per cent of the population of Britain owns 84 per cent of the nation's weath. He wrote and directed over sixty palys including The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black, Black Oil and Border Warfare. He died from leukaemia in January 2002.

Strathoykel, Sutherland. "When the Sheriff and his men arrived, the women were on the road and the men behind the walls. The women shouted 'Better to die here than America or the Cape of Good Hope'. The first blow was struck by a woman with a stick. The gentry leant out of their saddles and beat at the women's heads with their crops." (John McGrath)