Monday 25 May 2015

Portraying the Red Clydesiders - and young women of the East End!

A couple of events to draw your attention to today. Firstly an event slightly detached from its original slot in the Mayday celebrations - it was postponed from the original date of May 5 as that was only two days away from the General Election. and now takes place on Tuesday 26 May at 7.00pm in the STUC offices on Woodlands Road (above the Stand).

In one of the interesting and different talks put on by the Scottish Morning Star Campaign Committee as part of their Our Class, Our Culture series, John Quinn of the Glasgow School of Art will be talking about 'Portraying the Red Clydesiders' - with a slightly different angle on Maxton, Maclean, Shinwell, Gallacher et al. These events are always worth attending and manage to give us a interesting and political perspective on culture that we think we know about. Its a free event, so what's not to like?

In other political cultural events, the Southside Fringe Festival has just finished. One of its intriguing
shows was a newly written and composed musical on the 1888 Matchgirls Strike in London's East End. I say a new musical, because it seems that this strike has been the inspiration for two earlier musicals. In the 1960's both Joyce Adcock and Gordon Caleb (Strike a Light), and Bill Owen and Tony Russell (The Matchgirls) wrote musical treatments of the dispute, one of which (Strike a Light) played Glasgow's Alhambra Theatre in 1966.

Be that as it may, writer, Fatima Uygun says she deliberately didn't look at either until after she had written her own! The show - which played in The Steamie - part of Govanhill Baths was successful overall, but there are some elements that need attention, as I say in my review in the Morning Star - here. The cast and musicians are well worth some more exposure.

Monday 18 May 2015

Singing on the picket line?


Is it a travesty of an important Victorian industrial dispute, to portray it as a musical? Particularly a
musical rooted in the music hall tradition? Playwright Fatima Uygun doesn’t think so. She is one of a group of writers and performers who have come together to produce Strike a Light – a musical celebration of the 1888 Matchgirls strike in the East End of London. This is premiering at The Steamie, a venue within Glasgow’s Govanhill Baths as part of the Southside Fringe Festival.
Fatima says, “We have based this in a music hall, because it was a working-class  phenomena of the time, especially in the East End where the Bryant & May factory was situated.” One of her co-writers, Colin Poole is himself from the East End, and both writers are keen to re-evaluate the image of music hall , and place it firmly in working-class history.
The musical also taps into another interesting tradition, that of gender identity, and in particular cross-dressing. The story is told by ‘Burlington Bertie from Bow’ a popular music hall character, traditionally played by a woman dressed as a man. It features both traditional music hall songs, later songs in that tradition, and a number of new songs. New music was written for the play by Gavin Livingstone (of the Stars Band) and Colin Poole. Another writer (as well as an actor) is Jim Monaghan, who is both the Govanhill Baths only employee, and a performance poet in his own right.
Match Girls 1888
The strike, in an industry overwhelmingly staffed by young women, was started after an article by social reformer Annie Besant drew attention to the conditions in the match industry. The use of toxic white phosphorus had appalling health consequences for the workers, many of who contracted ‘phossy jaw’.  Bryant and May tried to get the workforce to sign a denial of the accusations, and after one worker was sacked – the strike started. Over 1400 workers were on strike by the end of the first day! The strike lasted over two weeks and ultimately led to significant improvements.
While this is the first strike recorded where the participants were young women. Fatima is at pains the point out that they would not have been isolated from the labour movement. Many of their families would have been dockers, and possibly gas workers where industrial activity also took place around this time.
The show taps into a number of theatrical traditions apart from music hall, using the Brechtian ‘play within a play’ device. It isn’t the first time that the Matchgirls Strike has been made into a musical – The Matchgirls, by actor, writer and director, Bill Owen – was put on in the West End in 1964.
Strike a Light, has enough elements in it to ensure a further theatrical tradition is followed. Didacticism is eschewed to ensure that, in John McGrath’s words; ‘a good night out’ is had by all!
Strike a Light is on in The Steamie, within the Govanhill Baths from Tuesday 19 – Saturday 23 May. Tickets £10/£8 from brownpapertickets.

Sunday 3 May 2015

Reasons to be MayDay - part 2



....The main event of the holiday period is the March and Rally today (3 May). From 11.00 people will gather in George Square and then march to the O2 Academy in Bridge Street. The March is being lead by young people and will rally in the O2. A range of speakers is headed by Seumas Milne, the Guardian correspondent. Also speaking will be Rosa Salih of the Glasgow Girls, a representative of the U.S. Fast Food Forward campaign for TU rights. Entertaining the masses while they wander round the stalls, will be Glasgow's own The Wakes.

A variety of political groupings will have their own events following the rally, but the evening delivers the second performance of From the Calton to Catalonia. Martin McCardie's successful and packed revival in the Calton last night is followed by this performance in Glasgow's Oran Mor. Maureen Carr leads an ensemble cast in Willy and John Maley's story of their dad's experiences in the International Brigade. Tickets £12, from the bar in Oran Mor, or via TicketWeb (including a booking fee).

Arthur Johnstone

On the Monday holiday, the now well-known Great MayDay Cabaret fills the venue at Oran Mor. Tommy Sands, the Irish singer and activist leads a star-studded cast that includes performance poet, Elvis McGonagall, actress Juliet Cadzow comedians Bruce Morton and Susie McCabe, and singer Siobhan Miller. They are joined by regulars Arthur Johnstone, Fraser Speirs and Stephen Wright, in what promises to be a cracking night. Again tickets available over the bar and via the online supplier This time at £14.

Then there is a gap during the week (is something happening next week?) although you can get another chance to see From the Calton to Catalonia if you're prepared to travel to Bo'ness on the 8 May (Barony Theatre), or Greenock on the 10 (Beacon Arts Centre). If you're staying in Glasgow next week, another great way to wind up the MayDay celebrations would be to see the Love Music, Hate Racism screening of Clash:Westway to the World on May 10 in the CCA (at 8.00pm). Free but ticketed from the CCA website.

All in all, Glasgows significant contribution to the International Workers' Day's festivities!

Friday 1 May 2015

Reasons to be MayDay - Part 1

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As we approach the main weekend of MayDay it is maybe a good time to pick out some highlights in the programme. Particularly as many activists of whatever political flavour will be somewhat exercised on things other than cultural events.



Friday 1 May is a very busy day. As might be expected, the coincidence of May 1 and the end of the week has thrown up a range of events. Earliest on the timetable is an interesting project run jointly by Glasgow University and Glasgow Museums.  Banner Tales aims to put banners from museum storage back into the communities they came from. And match them with local people with connections, either direct or historical, to them. The first of a series of events along these lines is today at 11.45am at Castlemilk Community Centre, the banners will be those of Castlemilk Anti-Poll
Tax Campaign, the Tailors and Garment workers union, and one of many cooperative women's Guild banners. It is planned to continue until 3.15pm. There will be further events later in the month in Barmulloch(16) and Govan(30).



Later in the day the newly-formed Clarion Cycle Club takes to the roads of Glasgow City centre for a Critical Mass ride out. Wearing red and giving it up to make some noise, they meet at Glasgow Green at 4.30pm. In the evening, there are a few events to choose from. 

In the Calton Heritage Centre at 7.30pm the first rehearsed reading of From the Calton to Catalonia, takes place. Starring Maureen Carr, Davie McKay and Bruce Morton and directed by Martin McCardie, this is a revival of Willy and John Maley's play about their father's experiences in the International Brigade. First performed by a young Gary Lewis at 1990's MayFest, this showing has had the support of Gary in its development. It is apparently pretty much sold out, so it might be better to try its other Glasgow performance on Sunday 3 May in Oran Mor. If you're near Irvine, the play is at the Celtic Club on Saturday, and also plays the Barony, Bo'ness(8) and the Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock on the 10. Tickets, various prices, from the venues via www.fairpley.com.



Also tonight, there is a Love Music, Hate Racism MayDay gig in Stereo. This is at 8.00pm starring
Young People's Army and Big Taj, Cutty's Gym, Pronto Mama and Quyeen (NrthrnXposure) and supported by the MU and Unite. Tickets are £5 from Ticketscotland. And afterwards across the lane in the Old Hairdressers, there will be a Mayday Social!



Or if your particular preferences are for music and performance poetry, you might want to try a new evening in the Steamie, the venue at Govanhill Baths. There at 7.00pm you'll be entertained by Viv Gee, Lorna McKinnon, "The Matchgirls", Colin Poole, Tickle, and The Unite! Fight! Sing! Choir including a special guest performance by Leyla Josephine. Your host will be Jim Monaghan. Entrance by donation - pay what you can.



If film is your bag, there are an intriguing couple of screenings tonight and on Saturday afternoon. Tonight at 6.30pm in the Gilmorehill Centre at Glasgow University, the award-winning documentary about the killing of 34 striking miners at the South African, Marikana pit gets a premiere in Glasgow. Entry is free, but it is first come, first served.



Tomorrow at the GFT, at 3.00pm Maria Fyfe, Chair of the Remember Mary Barbour Association, introduces the 1984 documentary by the Sheffield Film Co-op about the Rent Strikes in Furst World War Glasgow - Red Skirts on Clydeside. Widely credited with re-opening the history of women in the Red Clyde struggles,cut will be interesting to see how far we have come - or not! Tickets, £5 from the GFT.



Outside Glasgow, Saturday is dominated by MayDay Marches and Rallies. In Irvine, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee the afternoon is dominated by the sounds of bands and rallies. Details from the STUC here. Glasgow's will be held on Sunday at 11.00 from George Sq. more details in our second part, tomorrow!