Glasgow, for all the problems they say you have, you run through me, like a river, you run free.
I recently saw the musical Glasgow Girls – a declaration of love for Glasgow. The play is based on seven Drumchapel High pupils’ campaign for more humane treatment of asylum seekers, which specifically challenged dawn raids and the subsequent detention of families.
I thoroughly enjoyed the musical’s fast-moving, hard-hitting, high-energy broth of concise storytelling, eclectic musicianship and dance and choreographic prowess.
A musical with a message
With such immediacy Glasgow Girls works as entertainment and so much more. It draws attention to asylum issues and presents the complexity of those issues while also dispelling myths and avoiding sensationalism. We’re invited to learn more – and not judge those involved. As American Writer Susan Sontag wrote, “If I speak of what I do not know, or know hastily, this is mere opinion-mongering.”
The production of Glasgow Girls also illustrates what’s achievable through collaboration. Director, Cora Bissett, and writer, David Greig, worked with the Scottish Refugee Council, Lindsay Hill (director of the documentary Tales from the Edge), the choreographer Natasha Gilmore, and – alongside various songwriters – the musical director, Hilary Brooks. In addition, all seven of the Glasgow Girls and two of their teachers and neighbours had input in the script development.
A celebration of a commendable campaign
Glasgow Girls is an entertaining musical, but it succeeds on other levels. In these times of austerity, it celebrates the principled campaign of the Glasgow Girls and the qualities of young people making their way in an often difficult world. This is especially relevant when considering how the story resists prejudice and embraces the desire for global humanity.
Young, old, man or woman – their message is right, we should all strive to be ‘Glasgow Girls’ – someone who stands up for equality, dignity and protects those in our communities.
