A Lanarkshire theatre is marking its first anniversary by preparing to stage a “reimagined production” of a play which made its debut in the same town more than three decades ago.
Bold Girls will open at the Lanternhouse in Cumbernauld on Saturday, and then begin a busy run of 10 performances in the five days from Tuesday, September 27.
The play was first performed in the North Lanakshire town in 1990 when it was the first venue on the original Scottish tour by theatre company 7:84, and writer Rona Munro says she “couldn’t tell you how delighted I was that Bold Girls is returning to its first home”.
Set in west Belfast during the Troubles, the play features friends Marie, Cassie and Nora, who find that a visit from a mysterious young woman brings “devastating revelations that threaten to leave their friendships changed forever” – and is described as “a celebration of women’s strength under siege”.
The Cumbernauld performances star Pauline Goldsmith, Katya Searle, Julie Martis, and Leigh Lothian and are being directed by Michael Duke, who called the play “a modern classic”.
He said: “So many people in Scotland have seen it, or read it in school. Plays don’t get that sort of status for no reason – it’s full of brilliantly written characters that audiences recognise, it has a great story, and so many memorable moments.”
Bold Girls’ run is part of an autumn season marking Cumbernauld Theatre’s first year at its new home in the Lanternhouse performing arts centre at the Cumbernauld Academy campus.
It houses a 270-seat auditorium and studio theatre, a dance studio, and an 84-seat cinema and cafe; and opened in October 2021, after the theatre trust had spent nearly six decades at its cottage theatre, established in 1963 in an 18th-century row.
Chief executive Sarah Price said: “With this new production of Bold Girls we celebrate one of Scotland’s greatest female theatre writers, we celebrate our strong theatre tradition in Cumbernauld and we look ahead to engaging our schools and younger adult audiences in the stories that have shaped our world.”
Its run in Cumbernauld includes four school matinees, one of which is already sold out, and a performance interpreted in British sign language.
Tickets are available at www.lanternhousearts.org by calling 01236 732887.
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