Showing @ King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 8 – Sat 12 Nov

Having faced recent criticism suggesting it has ‘neglected homegrown drama’, the National Theatre of Scotland sends a pretty strong message in staging Ena Lamont Stewart’s classic. Thrown back to the bitter poverty of 1930s Glasgow, director Graham McLaren’s production couldn’t come at a more pertinent time, as we stare down at what will hopefully be a radical step towards overcoming our throttling neoliberal ideology in the current Occupy movement.

Lorraine McIntosh is cast as the damaged Maggie, affected from all angles as she cares for friends and family while living under the heavy hand of Depression poverty. The helpless intensity, claustrophobic and bleak, will no doubt be captured in McLaren’s production, as the nod towards levelled economic standards seems as yet so distant. It almost feels ironic that such a huge theatrical institution would stage a play about the struggles of the forgotten, and yet it forms a unity between those who can offer a platform and those who require one. So with this production comes a comment on social unity, and how in today’s age of dispensable media, the press must continue to offer a stage for our current protesters to occupy.

Listings

Venue, Date and Time:

Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 16 Sept – Sat 8 Oct 2011 at 7.30pm and 2.30pm Sat 24 Sept, Sat 1 Oct, Sat 8 Oct

Ticket prices: £5-£18

Booking Number: 0141 429 0022

Online booking: www.citz.co.uk

Venue, Date and Time:

Webster Theatre, Arbroath: Tue 18 Oct – Wed 19 Oct 2011 at 7.30pm

Ticket prices: £8 – £14

Booking Number: 01241 435800

Online booking: www.webstertheatre.co.uk

Venue, Date and Time:

Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Tue 25 -Sat 29 Oct 2011 at 7.30pm

Ticket prices: £15 – £19.50

Booking Number: 01463 234 234

Online booking: www.eden-court.co.uk

Venue, Date and Time:

His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, Tue 1-Sat 5 Nov 2011 at 7.30 and 2.30pm Sat 5 Nov

Ticket prices: £16 – £24.50

In person: Aberdeen Box Office at the Music Hall, His Majesty’s Theatre and

The Lemon Tree

Booking Number: 01224 641122

Online booking: www.boxofficeaberdeen.com

Venue, Date and Time:

Kings Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 8-Sat 12 Nov 2011 at 7.30pm and 2.30pm Sat 12 Nov

Ticket prices: £14.50 – £27.50

Booking Number: 0131 529 6000

Online booking: www.kingstheatre.org.uk

Venue, Date and Time:

Perth Theatre, Tue 15 Nov-Sat 26 Nov 2011 at 7.45pm and 2.30pm Sat 19 Nov and Sat 26 Nov

Ticket prices: £10.50 – £19

Booking Number: 01738 621 031

Online booking: www.horsecross.co.uk