UK sociologist explores Greenock through the lens of playwright Peter MacDougall

Yahoo

3 days ago

A LEADING UK sociologist is set to launch a new study exploring Inverclyde through the lens of famous playwright Peter MacDougall.
Professor Ian Pace, from the City St George's, London University, is turning his attention to the town in the 1960s to the 1990s for his next project.
As part of his research he is staying for 10 days in the Greenock with plans to talk to as many people as possible about what life looked like with housing, employment, education, crime, urban planning and culture.
An international pianist, the 57-year-old from the north east of England is professor of music culture and society.
Prof Ian Pace (Image: Duncan Bryceland)
He is now combining all his passions, including film, as he takes a look at the influence of Peter MacDougall's The Elephant's Grave and Just A Boy's Game.
Speaking to the Tele, Professor Ian Pace said: "I want to look at the way Inverclyde was portrayed by Peter MacDougall.
"There are so many studies on Glasgow but not about Greenock. It is an unexplored area in terms of academia and yet Peter MacDougall here was an influential film maker.
"There is a real difference between Glasgow and Greenock. But there has been very little done academically on Greenock.
"But it would appear to be the roots of the way the area is portrayed in popular culture. This largely continued through to the 1990s when there was real shift and social change.
"I am here because I want to speak to people about what their memories of Greenock were, what was it like.
"Do they recognise Greenock in these productions? Was that what it was like?"
1960s Greenock (Image: contributed)
Greenock in the 1960s (Image: contributed)
He added: "In my work I am very interested in the way characters in television are portrayed. I remember the detective in Sweeney.
"A Glasgow accent was used to portray a hardman, someone who was worse than what was already there in South London.
"What is interesting is most of Peter MacDougall's work was produced by the BBC down south."
Peter MacDougall (Image: contributed)
The professor hopes to add to his own impressive body of work with 'Inventing Clydeside for wider consumption: social developments from the 1960s to the 1990s and their constructions in the work of Peter McDougall' with the potential for a book.
He added: "I am a huge film buff and I am a massive fan of his work and his films. I always have been.
"I am originally from Hartlepool and there are some similarities with the shipbuilding. I have always been interested in urban sociology."
Professor Pace has lined up a number of local people to speak to as he begins his research as he explores Greenock and Inverclyde.
Some of his past work and areas of expertise include German history, society, politics and music in the twentieth century and the impact of the Cold War on culture.
He is also an internationally acclaimed pianist studying at the Juilliard School, New York, where he studied with the Hungarian pianist György Sándor.
Professor Pace has featured as a soloist with the Orchestre de Paris under Christoph Eschenbach, the SWF Orchester Stuttgart under Rupert Huber, and the Dortmund Philharmonic under Bernhard Kontarsky.