Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
4 stars ` When a group of teenage asylum seekers and their pals took on a system that sanctioned dawn raids that resulted in incarceration and deportation, they not only shamed the politicians who allowed such atrocities to happen. They also united a working class community and changed lives forever. The fact that this true story reimagined here as a large-scale musical happened less than a decade ago on the streets of Glasgow is an even more disgraceful pointer to how human rights are casually breached on our own doorstep. Cora Bissett’s production for the Citizens, National Theatre of Scotland and a host of other partners may sucker-punch the audience with a knowingly schmaltzy if slightly too self-referential feel-good opening. The emotional impact of the show, however, as conceived by director Cora Bissett with writer David Greig and composers Soom T, Patricia Panther and the Kielty Brothers under the musical direction of Hilary Brooks, is undeniable. Not all of the first half grabs you by the throat as it should, with only Panther’s moody vocal as a police-woman having volume and oomph enough to fully connect. The second half is a different story, and from a chilling out-front re-enactment of how one family are hauled off to the airport onwards, the last third of the show makes for a devastatingly of-the-moment piece of political theatre. What the play lacks in sophistication, it makes up for in heart, and never forgets for a second that it’s dealing with real lives. This is brought home even more when the real Glasgow girls join the fantastic all-singing, all-dancing cast onstage for a curtain-call that’s both celebration and call to arms. The Herald, November 5th 2012 ends
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