Tron Theatre, Glasgow Four stars In January 1981, 240 women occupied the Greenock factory they worked in after their jobs were put on the line following the factory’s sale. Like the then prime minister, these ladies weren’t for turning. Led by indomitable shop steward Helen Monaghan, the women’s struggle captured the public imagination, and after seven months, in the short term, at least, they won their fight. Almost half a century on, Frances Poet has taken this vital piece of history and put it back on the front line in her new play that gets to the human heart of the story. Developed from an idea with journalist Paul English, Jemima Levick’s production - a collaboration between the National Theatre of Scotland and the Tron - sets out its store on Jessica Worrall’s old school social club set, where the six-strong cast punctuate each scene by playing some of the year’s smash hits like a cabaret cover band. The girl group chutzpah on display in the ...
Ã’ran Mór , Glasgow Four stars Everything is going off down at the local community centre in Ross Mackay’s new play, where an old school Tory turned Reform defector and a newly elected Green councillor are about to host a joint surgery for their constituents. As Jeremy and Viv argue the ideological toss, it turns out they might be closer to being two sides of the same coin than either of them likes to think. The first test of this unlikely alliance comes in the form of Lenny, whose faith in the political system, it’s probably fair to say, has reached the end of its tether. Locked in for the night as accidental captives, the trio work their way behind unworkable ideologies to more workaday matters worth voting for before negotiating an uneasy truce that might just get blown apart any second. With elections looming and political allegiances on all sides increasingly polarised, Mackay’s mini satire couldn’t be more telling about the current state we’re in. J...