Glasgow Girls | The Review

29th September*

This morning I was to embark on an adventure into theatre with my fellow actresses and actors to watch a show called: Glasgow Girls. Transportation wise I along with a few others from the class went with Rob on the tube to Stratford East. The play was a true story which instantly grabbed me as I was intrigued to learn about the girls story and how drastic the change in their lives were, it was based on one of the girls called (whom if memory serves correctly) Agnesa and her family being asylum seekers within Scotland at the time. The family of four were forcibly taken away from their home in Glasgow subsequently causing a rupture in the circle of friends' friendship, and unbeknownst to Agnesa her friends would stir up the courage and bravery in order to bring their friend back. Even though their primary task was bringing Agnesa back they were also fighting for the rights of the children of many other asylum-seekers throughout the country.

When we actually sat down and watched the play I was moved by how many touching subjects there were and what some of the friends had to deal with by just coming into the country.  As the play moved on (even from the start) I was able to feel the vast amounts of energy and presence from the actresses down below as my class were stationed on the upper level towards the back. Their voices were powerful, loud and clear to me however of course their dialect was a bit hard to understand for me as there was certain words or sentences that got completely lost within my mind whence there were said, this was due to the speed of which they were talking at and some pronunciations, although that was a minor problem the way they gripped us from their actions to, their vocals and to their speeches was stupendous.

There was also the use of lighting and sound in the play that I believed really put the icing on the cake so to speak, from different moods the lighting would change to match it giving the audience a clear vibe into what was going on as well as keeping the attention focused on the stage in front. Certain points in the play used the lights in such an amazing way I was left thinking how they had done it all, for example in one scene one of the girls are being encircled by police officers and the lights turned blue and after using a spiral-type gobo which began spiralling on the group creating a sort of "boxed in" feeling, as well as their use of sounds when police sirens and marching footsteps boomed around the theatre. Another good combination of the two was when Agnesa was forced from her home alongside her parents and little brother there was a nice sound of glass smashing and yelps from various people signifying a struggle to leave the house, the lights in this stage had begun a flickering state revealing a set of shadows here and there which showed a state of urgency within that specific piece.

Many times did one character change into another and I have to say that those changes to me were completely flawless. When the changed it wasn't a case of "Wait wasn't she playing her?" or "Couldn't they get different actors?" Their way of working and builds of character were spot on as some changed their posture/walking style/voices which plain and simple led the audience to believe that this character was his/her own not another actor who's portrayal we could see through.

Use of space seemed pretty well rehearsed upon watching them move so fluidly as they filled up spaces everywhere, never seeming to let the crowds attention move away from them. To highlight this further their spacial awareness was evident in their songs and dances as well.

To finalise this review I found Glasgow Girls to be a powerful story with comedic elements thrown into it as well as the realism behind it.

All in all I give Glasgow Girls a solid 4 out of 5.