Stage.
David McKail made his professional stage debut as Wally Web in Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" at the the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre, directed by Peter Potter, in 1952. In 1953 he was in William Douglas Hume's "The Thistle and the Rose", directed by Michael Langham, in the same theatre. In 1961, after graduating from Drama College, he was invited to join the Citizens' Theatre for the 1961-62 season then under the artistic direction of Callum Mill.
Other repertory and repertoire companies with which he has appeared include, Birmingham, Bagnor (The Watermill), Chichester, Coventry, Dundee, Edinburgh (Lyceum & Traverse), Harrogate, Newcastle, Perth, Pitlochry, Watford & York.
In 1965, he made his London debut as Owen Davies in Alun Owen's "A Little Winter Love", directed by Garry O'Connor at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.
In 1966 and 1968 he was at Hampstead Theatre Club as Gunner Flynn in John McGrath's "Events While Guarding the Bofors Gun" and as the Priest in McGrath's "Bakke's Night of Fame". Both plays were directed by Ronald Eyre. Both were world premieres
In 1968 he toured England with Prospect Productions, playing the Earl of Northumberland in Shakespeare's "Richard II", directed by Richard Cottrell, and Nicola in Shaw's "Arms and the Man", directed by John Gorrie.
In 1969 for Natal Performing Arts Council he toured throughout Natal as Young Marlow in Goldsmith's "She Stoops to Conquer" (dir. Roy Sargeant) and as Angelo in Ugo Betti's "Crime at Goat Island" (dir. Frank Shelley). Later the same year he embarked on an extensive tour in the Netherlands playing Joseph Surface in Sheridan's "The School for Scandal" for the Theatre Royal, York directed by Donald Bodley.
1970 took him to the Chichester Festival Theatre where he played the Earl of Bothwell in the world premiere of Robert Bolt's "Vivat, Vivat Regina", directed by Peter Dews, moving with the production to the Piccadilly Theatre, for the 13-month London run.
1972 saw him back at Chichester, playing Hortensio in "The Taming of a Shrew" (dir. Jonathan Miller) and Humphrey in Christopher Fry's "The Lady's Not for Burning" (Robin Phillips).
In 1975 Sir John Clements engaged him for "The Case in Question", Ronald Millar's dramatic version of C.P. Snow's novel "In Their Wisdom", in which he played Dr Lovell for the nine-month run at the Haymarket Theatre, London.
In 1984 he toured Britain playing Inspector Davidson in William Fairchild's "The Sound of Murder" for Malcolm Knight Productions, directed Garfield Morgan.
1984 also saw a tour of "BOZZY" through Scotland and England. This is a solo play written by David McKail in the pseudonym of Frederic Mohr and directed by John Carnegie, produced at the 1981 Edinburgh Festival Fringe where it won a Fringe First Award. It was subsequently revived with new decor in 1982. 1984 being the 200th anniversary of the death of Dr Johnson saw the farewell tour of the production and the last of 84 performances.
Between 1985 and 1996 McKail lived in Scotland where he continued to appear in stage productions from time to time ,the last being as Sir Peter Teazle in "The School for Scandal" at Perth Repertory Theatre in 1995.
David has played in a wide range of styles from Pantomime to intense drama. Shakespeare, Shaw, Sheridan and Wilde among the classics; adaptations of Dickens; modern European writers such as Brecht, Ghelderode, Mrozek, Frisch and Walser; Albee, Williams and Inge among the modern America repertoire; boulevard comedy and slapstick.