Play to 'point spotlight' at county lines drug operations in Scottish city

Written by Linda McLean, who recently adapted Denise Mina's The Long Drop for stage - and directed by veteran Scottish director Jemima Levick, Ferry is set in Dundee and tells the story of fifteen-year-old Freddy who is offered a job and a train ticket from Glasgow to Dundee by a new acquaintance.

Co-produced by Dundee Rep Theatre, Tron Theatre, Traverse Theatre and ETT, the production opens in Dundee in February 2027 before touring to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Andrew Panton, artistic director of Dundee Rep Theatre, said: “When Paul and I first spoke about this project, I knew immediately that this was a story that needed to be told on the Dundee Rep stage. Linda McLean is one of Scotland’s most powerful theatrical storytellers, and working with her and the brilliant Jemima Levick on this extraordinary piece feels like a very special coming together of creative talent. With an amazing creative team and cast alongside us, I’m thrilled to bring this visceral and deeply affecting play to audiences in Dundee and across Scotland.”

Playwright Linda McLean said: “There is a staggering number of vulnerable young boys, some not even teenagers, who are being lured into criminal gangs by unscrupulous men who tempt them with smart clothes, fast money, and membership of an elite gang. However, once inside this closely-knit criminal network, they find it well-nigh impossible to escape.

“I grew up in the kind of housing schemes where this kind of thing happened so when I was made aware of the scale of this problem, I felt passionately about bringing it to light.”

Jemima Levick, director of The Ferry, and artistic director of the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, said: “The Ferry is one of the most captivating and important new plays I've read in years. I've always known what an exceptional craftswoman Linda is but I've never actually directed any of her work.

“When Andrew, and later, Linda and Paul talked to me about the project it was a no brainer that the Tron should be involved. County lines and the impact of this world is something that surrounds all of us, and yet it remains sheltered and underground. The Ferry gives us an opportunity to point a spotlight at that world, to raise awareness, and pull the people that occupy it into focus. This play does all of that, with power and humour, and heart and poetry.”

Actor Paul Rattray, who inspired the original idea for the play, said: “This story is particular to Dundee. Its voice, its spirit, its energy and its people will be known to local audiences. However the story is also one which reaches out of Dundee, across Scotland, the UK. So while the play’s soul is of Dundee, its story resonates beyond.

“It is also a national story about the devastation that is happening to young people and communities and neighbours throughout the country.”

The Ferry previews at Dundee Rep Theatre from 6 February, ahead of its world premiere on 11 February, and runs until 20 February, before touring to Tron Theatre, Glasgow from 23 February to 6 March, and Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh from 9 to 20 March.

Accompanying the production will be a programme of outreach activity, engaging with young people and communities within each of the touring cities.