By Joyce McMillan

Published 25th Apr 2025, 09:11 BST

Ninian Dunnett is an Edinburgh man through and through. His father was legendary Scotsman editor Alistair Dunnett, his mother the novelist Dorothy Dunnett, famous for her brilliant historical adventures based on Scottish history. And although his own life as a writer and journalist has often taken him far from his native city – notably for spells in the United States – he has always returned home; where, these days, he teaches a course in popular music at Edinburgh University, as well as continuing his writing career.

They say, though, that a little distance makes it easier to see the home place clearly; and Dunnett was working as a young journalist in Newcastle, at the moment in the early 1980s when he wrote the script that would make his name in the world of film. “I didn’t even know what I was writing, really,” says Dunnett. “It was just little scribbles and notes here and there. And those were busy times in the north-east of England; the miner’s strike was looming, and I was out there interviewing people whose livelihoods were on the line, and who mostly weren’t too keen on journalists.

“But I picked up this leaflet in my bank advertising a screenwriting competition – the Lloyds Bank National Screenwriting Competition 1984 – and I decided to enter. I tidied my material into the script that became Restless Natives, and to my huge surprise it won the prize, which was a chance to take the film forward to production.

The Clown and the Wolfman pictured in Leith Theatre PIC: Colin Hattersley

“I don’t know if opportunities like that still exist, now, for complete outsiders to get a foothold in the film industry. But for me, it was fantastic; and it marked the beginning not just of a new career, but of what have become lifelong friendships, particularly with the director, Michael Hoffman, and Andy Paterson, who was a co-producer on the original film.”

And it’s those friendships that have come back into play 40 years on, as Dunnett, Hoffman and Paterson work together again – with a whole new team of artists and co-producers – to create a new stage musical version of Dunnett’s much-loved story. The 1985 film features actors Vincent Friell and Joe Mullaney as Will and Ronnie, a pair of dead-end kids from Wester Hailes who, in the darkest moments of the Thatcherite 1980s, decide to get on board Ronnie’s Suzuki motor bike, don a pair of wolf-man and clown masks acquired from the Edinburgh joke shop where Ronnie works, and launch themselves into a new and lucrative career as latter-day highwayman, holding up tourist buses full of wealthy Americans on some of the most scenic roads in the Highlands. The pair soon become media legends, redistributing some of their winnings in deprived areas of Edinburgh; and Will also acquires a love interest, in the shape of rebel tour guide Margot.

The police, though, are in hot pursuit; and the film unfolds as a slightly surreal light-touch comedy caper, in a similar vein to other 1980s’ Scottish film hits Gregory’s Girl and Local Hero. And despite the 40-year gap between the film and the musical, Dunnett and the rest of the team have seen no reason to update the story from its 1980s’ setting. “We felt that we just didn’t need to move it,” says Dunnett. “Despite all the changes of the last 40 years, the parallels are still so strong. And, of course, there’s the wonderful music by Big Country that helped shape the film. We couldn’t lose that wonderful 1980s Celtic rock romanticism; and with our terrific composer Tim Sutton, and full support from Big Country and Stuart Adamson’s family, we’ve been trying to reflect that spirit in developing the songs for the musical.”

Set to open at Perth Theatre on 24 April, before a Scotland-wide tour, the musical features a multi-talented cast of eleven, including young actors Kyle Gardiner and Kirsty MacLaren as Ronnie and Margot; and they agree that despite the 40-year time lapse, in many ways the Restless Natives story could have been written today.

A still from the original 1985 film version of Restless Natives PIC: Courtesy of Studio Canal

“I think the political parallels are really interesting,” says MacLaren, “both the economic and political landscape, and all the questions about Scottish identity the story raises. The story is a bit crazy and surreal – but I think that’s what we need, right now. Margot talks about needing heroes, who can really change things – and here are two guys taking matters into their own hands, in a way that’s brilliant, and very funny. I’m sure that will still have a huge resonance with young audiences today – and the Big Country music is great, as well.”

And Kyle Gardiner – who has lately been winning acclaim as an actor in shows ranging from football drama Moorcroft to recent Play, Pie, Pint hit Dookin’ Oot – strongly agrees. “These are two young guys who are stuck,” says Gardiner. “They have no prospects, and they have to somehow create a future for themselves. So the idea behind the story and the characters is brilliant, and absolutely still relevant today. My character, Ronnie, is the dreamer behind the whole project, the one for whom this adventure is the only valuable thing his life, the one who gets his foot down on the Suzuki and makes it happen.

"It’s a wonderful story arc, and I love playing him. And no, I’m not telling you whether there’s going to be a live Suzuki on stage. If you want to know that, you’ll have to come and see the show!”

“In the end,” adds Dunnett, “this is a show about individuals and community, and about two young guys transforming their lives in a way that’s funny and surprising, and makes people feel good.

The Clown and the wolf pictured at the King's Theatre in Glasgow, where Restless Natives is playing from 24-28 June PIC: Colin Hattersley

"And we know that these characters and their story really meant something to people, when they first appeared in the film. It was a joyous experience, a journey of uplift that left everyone feeling enhanced, in some way; and we hope the musical will be the same.”

Restless Natives is at Perth Theatre from 26 April to 10 May, and then on tour until 28 June, with dates in Stirling, Aberdeen, Inverness, Leith and Glasgow

Restless Natives creator Ninian Dunnet on the new stage version: 'the parallels are still so strong'