The life and crimes of Dumfriesshire bicycle inventor Kirkpatrick Macmillan will be revealed in a new BBC radio play by former dgArts writer in residence Jules Horne on Thursday 19th May.
Many of us in D&G remember Jules with affection and gratitude (she certainly helped my writing along) - so will be listening out on Thursday when her new radio play is broadcast, 2.15 on Radio 4, with all the usual helpful options for catching it later...
MACMILLAN’S MARVELLOUS MOTION MACHINE is based on the story of Kirkpatrick ‘Daft Pate’ Macmillan, the Dumfriesshire blacksmith who invented the pedal bicycle, rode from Penpont to Glasgow and committed the world’s first cycle crime in 1842. It includes a cast of thousands played by six Scottish actors, including John Kazek (Spooks, Batman Begins), Isabella Jarrett (Faust, Barry) and Gabriel Quigley (Festival, Rab C Nesbitt), and is directed by Rosie Kellagher of Newcastle’s Theatre Live.
Macmillan worked in the smiddy at Drumlanrig Castle, and Jules was inspired by seeing a velocipede at the Vintage Cycle Museum there. To find out what it was like to build and ride the first bicycle, she worked closely with the museum’s velocipede expert Tony Dymott, and carried out research at Dumfries Museum and the Ewart Library. She also visited Cousland Smiddy and spoke to resident blacksmith James Fleming to find out about the life of a Scottish blacksmith in the 1800s.
She says: ‘Macmillan’s design was way ahead of its time, but he didn’t get proper recognition. It was a fascinating period in history, with so much social and industrial change, and it’s wonderful to think a rural blacksmith was in on the start of such an important invention. It’s been great fun to bring his story to life. ’
