On Thursday 20th February, a group of women from the Glasgow Women’s Library Seeing Things and Mixing the Colours projects went along to the Citizens Theatre for the first night of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme run of the hit musical Glasgow Girls. Based on the true story of seven Glasgow schoolgirls who came together to campaign for the release of their detained asylum-seeking schoolfriend and her family, and for the rights and freedoms of all asylum-seekers in Glasgow, Glasgow Girls enjoyed a hugely successful run in 2012, and is back at the Citizens Theatre from Thursday 20th February until International Women’s Day on Saturday 8th March.
Despite being particularly interested in the subject on which Glasgow Girls is based, I went along to the Citizens Theatre on Thursday with some trepidation. I’m not a big fan of musicals, and the prospect of two hours of twee set pieces and loud, over-energetic chorus-lines made me a little anxious. Glasgow Girls was certainly an energetic performance; I congratulate the whole cast on what I can only describe as Olympian stamina. However, it was almost immediately obvious to me that this story needs joy, colour, volume and energy in order to be effectively presented. I’m sure the story of these girls and their staggering achievements could have been told without a trace of song, dance or satire – but such a performance would have been a weaker offering by comparison.
The Glasgow Girls themselves are brave, affectionate and easy to invest in, right from their upbeat but foreshadowing opening song, We’re at Home in Glasgow. In the midst of an inevitably harrowing subject, schoolteacher and reluctant hero Mr Girvan provides comic relief one minute, and the haunting soundtrack (To a Mouse) as four schoolgirls from asylum-seeking families draw their own interpretations of ‘home’ in his classroom the next. The performance uses comedy and big musical performances to address grave misconceptions about asylum-seeking families (songs like At It!, Cuff You and Planes are wonderfully angry, both about official and public perceptions and about the treatment of people within the asylum system), and the feeling of impotence which comes with being told by politicians what they can’t do, rather than what they can, is a theme of songs like Going to Parliament and Ain’t Done Jack. At every turn, it is the camaraderie of the girls, and their ability to celebrate difference, that serves to make the divisiveness and suspicion of officialdom seem so narrow-minded and self-defeating.
While the actors’ performances were strong across the board, I was particularly impressed by Myra McFadyen, who played the irrepressibly maternal Noreen as well as several other parts throughout the performance. As someone who usually avoids musicals, I was interested to find that Noreen’s music-free monologues on the injustice of the asylum system and dawn raids were some of the saddest, funniest, angriest and most powerful scenes of the show. Having said that, I do challenge anybody to listen to Noreen’s song It’s No a Wean’s Choice without shedding tears of pride and anger – of a highly emotive whole, I found this by far the most affecting part.
Glasgow Girls enjoyed a packed theatre and a very positive, emotional response on its opening night. The performance was compelling, concise and incredibly poignant – and all the more so given that these relatable characters are real and not just a gripping fiction. Unafraid of being both hilarious and upsetting, it is also brave enough to challenge the notion of ‘The Law’ and its enforcement agencies as incontrovertibly appropriate and just. In fact, I truly hope that Glasgow Girls can reach out to the very people and organisations involved in the promotion of baseless speculation on the subject of asylum as effectively as it touches those who are already informed about the realities of the issue at a grass-roots level. An electrifying testament to a culture of female strength, fellowship and unity in Glasgow, this is a show which can make you proud to be Glaswegian and proud to be Scottish but, more importantly, it can make you proud to be a person who gives a damn about what it really means to be an asylum-seeker in a UK city.
Glasgow Girls will run at the Citizens Theatre until Saturday 8th March – to find showtimes, view clips and read full details of characters, cast and crew, visit the website.
Our visit to the Citizens Theatre was organised by the GWL Seeing Things project, and funded by the GWL Mixing the Colours project. Seeing Things aims to provide supported opportunities for women to come together to engage in events, visits and training in order to broaden their range of experiences, and to improve their wellbeing by giving them the chance to try new things together. If you’d like to find out more about the project, contact Alice Andrews on 0141 550 2267. The Mixing the Colours project aims to enable women to speak about sectarianism, and to open up opportunities for them to make contributions to the dialogue on what sectarianism is, how it impacts on them, and how it can be addressed. If you’d like to know more, contact Rachel Thain-Grey on 0141 550 2267.
Rebecca Jones
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