A bumper audience enjoyed a play marking the 50th anniversary of the famous Glasgow shipbuilders “work-in”.
Over 150 people attended Yes! Yes! UCS! at St. Columbkillie’s Hall in Rutherglen last Saturday.
The Peoples Past Peoples Future (PPPF) Facebook teamed up with Glasgow Credit Union to bring the musical to the town.
PPPF member Geraldine Baird told Lanarkshire Live : “We wanted to bring a live drama to the community, we want folk who do not get a chance, to experience live theatre.
“They wrote and performed this wonderful, skilful, lively and interesting show and the audience were enraptured and delighted.
“We were delighted at the turnout and the positive response of the audience. People were saying it was the best political drama they had seen.
“It was a chance to remember our proud working class history and PPPF have done an amazing job to get it to Rutherglen for our community to enjoy.”
The UCS of the title refers to the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, who, when faced with the shipyards entering liquidation in 1971 and the loss of thousands of jobs, conducted a ‘work-in’ to complete their orders that were already in place.
The tactic gained massive support from across Scotland beyond, and eventually led the Conservative Government to withdraw their plans to shut down the yards.
In the play, written by Neil Gore, the tale is presented through the eyes of teenage girls Aggie and Eddy, who discover a lot about themselves during the dispute, and the production uses words, songs and striking graphics to tell the story.
The show came to the Royal Burgh thanks to the efforts of PPPF, who secured funding from the Glasgow Credit Union to help put the show on and provide a slice of theatre for locals at a budget price.
The play which was produced by Townsend Productions performed for one night in Rutherglen as part of its UK tour.