John McGrath set up 7:84 Scotland to stage performances that would spur the audience into action. He conveyed socialist principles using elements of music hall, pantomime and Brechtian theatre.
Satire is a genre of literature in which a vice – for example, wickedness, stupidity, greed or corruption – is held up for general ridicule.
Satires tend to be humorous in nature. But they have a serious underlying social comment or important message to put across. Individuals, companies, society and the government are common targets for satire. Satires tend to use stock characters more than realistic, rounded characters.
McGrath does just this - creating characters who are types:
Pathos is a technique used by a writer to provoke the audience’s sympathies or to appeal to their emotions.
In The Cheviot , pathos is evoked through the frequent use of haunting Gaelic song, by the recitation of historical ballads and by detached readings from primary source material.