New musical ‘Glasgow Girls’ makes its Belfast debut at the MAC this February
“The most politically engaged and enraged British musical since Blood Brothers, but it is even more raw and heartbreaking because it is entirely true.” ***** Sunday Express
“Awe-inspiring.” **** Time Out
A smash hit new musical Glasgow Girls comes to Belfast for the first time, this critic’s top pick is a life-affirming, song-filled drama that tells the tale of the most powerful asylum campaigns in recent history. Exclusive to the MAC, Glasgow Girls will be available for a strictly limited run from 21-25 February 2017, the only dates in Northern Ireland.
Conceived for the stage and directed by Cora Bissett, Glasgow Girls is based on a true story of seven teenagers whose lives are changed forever when their friend and her asylum-seeking family are forcibly taken from their home to be deported. Told through uplifting songs, music, dance and humour, it is a high-spirited theatrical experience not to be missed this February.
Glasgow Girls has blown audiences and critics away, it has received multiple-star reviews from esteemed critics and was 2016’s biggest selling show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It further exceeded expectations in 2013 winning the 'Off West End' Best New Musical Award when it played at Theatre Royal Stratford East in London.
Simon Magill, Creative Director at the MAC, said: “At the MAC we pride ourselves in bringing the best new theatre to our stages. Glasgow Girls is an opportunity to present an award-winning, high energy musical which has delighted audiences wherever it has played – in short, a perfect fit for the MAC.”
The music styles are as diverse as the characters within the story, featuring original songs across a host of genres including electronic grime from Patricia Panther, reggae-dub from Scots-Asian Rapper Sumati Bhardwaj (MC Soom T), folk-rock from Cora Bissett and original compositions for the Kielty brothers.
Cora Bissett, Director of Glasgow Girls, said: “Glasgow Girls was a smash hit when it first played in 2012, we were always keen to give it another, fuller, more widespread life across the UK and we are especially excited for its debut at the MAC in Belfast. Every time we have mounted this show, it has resonated in a different way, depending on what was happening in society at large. It could not be more timely and prescient as migration and the struggles of refugees are increasingly one of the most important human issues of our day.”
As the issue of refugees and asylum faces us on our TVs every day, this vibrant and life-affirming production could not be more prescient; bringing humanity to the stories of those people fleeing war-torn lands. Glasgow Girls is a celebration of the power of teenagers and a community with a cause, offering a strong, positive and unifying message.
