THE life and times of the celebrated Irish Republican, Margaret Skinnider (above), will take centre stage thanks to a new play in the works.
The play is an initiative that has been driven by the 1916 Rising Centenary Committee (Scotland), who have joined with FairPley Ltd in working together to produce a one woman play about Coatbridge born heroine of the 1916 Rising and prominent trade unionist.
The plan is to take the stage show—which is a rewrite of actor and director Cat Hepburn’s original play—to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2021. The committee and FairPley Ltd aim to hold rehearsals and a initiate a programme to take the show to Edinburgh.
“All of this is of course dependent on things beginning to return to normality,” Maggie Chetty, Chair of the 1916 Rising Centenary Committee (Scotland), said. “But we are optimistic despite the current Covid-19 doom and gloom. We were very pleased to have received funding towards this goal from the Emigrant Support Programme and from the trade unions Unison and Unite.
“We still need to raise a substantial amount of money for the project. This will enable us to produce excellent props, publicity and musical input and to be able to offer a wide-ranging programme for young people in Glasgow, to ensure that Margaret Skinnider’s story is passed on to the next generation. And, of course, we would still want to take the play to Ireland with sufficient funding. We are keen to introduce new audiences to this amazing feminist, trade unionist and revolutionary.”
If you would like to donate to the play—and the committee have stressed that all donations will be gratefully received—then the bank details are as follows: 1916 Rising Centenary Committee (Scotland). Account number: 20364072. Bank sort code: 608301
