Dougal Graham (1724 – 1779) the Raploch Rapper, Poet, Chapman, and Stirling’s first war correspondent sits in effigy in the Stirling Smith.

On Friday 22 May at 7.30pm, writer and fellow poet John Coutts will brought him to life again when the Riverside Drama Club’s production of “A Chapman Calls” is staged in the Stirling Smith, in a special Evening with Dougal Graham.
Dougal Graham was a poor, disabled young man from the Raploch who at the age of 21 joined Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army as a camp follower. He had a sharp and ready wit and a talent for writing poetry. Within five months of the Jacobite defeat at Culloden, he had written his History of the Late Rebellion in rhyming verse. His chap books, which he sold from door to door, were the predecessors of our newspapers.
Dougal is one of the great heroes of Scottish chap book literature, whose work was much admired by literary giants like Sir Walter Scott. With this work, John Coutts is shining a light in the unknown world of chap book literature and giving us the opportunity to enjoy and have a laugh from the eighteenth century.