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Post by nonrabbit on Jun 15, 2014 7:36:16 GMT
Ok that was definitely sokihull street or something similar with a K in it. I love your spelling. Sauchiehall Street - no 'k' You might remember the other long streets too in the town - Argyle St,Buchanan St, Renfrew Street etc. Strange thing that still exists in Glasgow today is that if you were brought up north of the Clyde the south is like a foreign country and vice versa so as someone from the north side I really don't know that much about Pollokshields. Here's McCulloch street now but I would be more familiar with where you stayed in Sauchiehall St as my school was up one of the hills off the street, next to the Art School. www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.844886,-4.272389,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sd2JFQUNqUA-fiDHmLbV50A!2e0?hl=en edited to say - I'll fix that link later - I have to dash
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Post by elmsliegirl on Jun 15, 2014 15:50:25 GMT
Yes you are right. They were gang boys with a family history of violence. We went to see 'The Godfather' together and unlike myself they were totally at home with the film. Amazingly they were not at all difficult to teach. No discipline needed. They were full of respect and very protective towards me. When they improvised a situation that they understood, I thought their acting stood out miles above the actors I was working with at the Citizens, some of whom have gone on to be very successful. The boys however made a real lasting impression on me. They could have done anything if they had been able to jump out of their violent conditioning. One of them told me I was naive to think that. He told me that his way of life was his security. He was just amazing. My sister in laws grandchild has gone into the police force, I am so respectful of her brave choice in life. We at the Citizens Theatre were all very aware of the Glasgow community in those days. That is why Giles invited my boys to the theatre to see the shows for free. He reduced the tickets to 50p a go for the community so that people could afford to be there. There was a belief and hope that the theatre could change things. In one way I think it played a major role in change, in another way there was a lot of arrogance going down. I was in a play called 'Saved' by Edward bond which was about street violence of the very worst kind. It was a horrible play and we had actor/audience discussions afterwards. I remember one now very famous scottish actor going on about the violent aspect as if he was an authority on the subject. He really wasn't an authority on the subject but he was good at taking centre stage. We saw a lot of violence on the streets of Glasgow then but also some amazing things happened. Talking about your colourful choices in life, I walked into an empty rehearsal room one day to hear a rather wonderful actor/musician singing and playing the piano. He told me that the song was about the city of Glasgow which he said lay in a valley beneath a dark grey cloud, all very black and white, I can't remember the name of the song or if he had written it or not....perhaps you know.
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Post by nonrabbit on Jun 16, 2014 8:23:35 GMT
There was an interview that Ian did fairly recently with someone called Red Beard. This was in connection to his recent album. Ian spoke about the cruelty of his father, the true nature of this particular cruelty Ian actually never told me about. Even though one of our regular topics of conversation was very often the cruelty of our own individual fathers. So I am pretty gob smacked that he has come around to talking about it. If someone could do a link you might understand what I am saying. .. I think we've posted this on the Forum but for clarity of reading on this thread here it is... www.inthestudio.net/redbeards-blog/jethro-tulls-ian-anderson-suffered-fathers-gay-intolerance/
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Post by nonrabbit on Jun 16, 2014 8:34:31 GMT
Yes you are right. They were gang boys with a family history of violence. We went to see 'The Godfather' together and unlike myself they were totally at home with the film. Amazingly they were not at all difficult to teach. No discipline needed. They were full of respect and very protective towards me. When they improvised a situation that they understood, I thought their acting stood out miles above the actors I was working with at the Citizens, some of whom have gone on to be very successful. The boys however made a real lasting impression on me. They could have done anything if they had been able to jump out of their violent conditioning. One of them told me I was naive to think that. He told me that his way of life was his security. He was just amazing. My sister in laws grandchild has gone into the police force, I am so respectful of her brave choice in life. We at the Citizens Theatre were all very aware of the Glasgow community in those days. That is why Giles invited my boys to the theatre to see the shows for free. He reduced the tickets to 50p a go for the community so that people could afford to be there. There was a belief and hope that the theatre could change things. In one way I think it played a major role in change, in another way there was a lot of arrogance going down. I was in a play called 'Saved' by Edward bond which was about street violence of the very worst kind. It was a horrible play and we had actor/audience discussions afterwards. I remember one now very famous scottish actor going on about the violent aspect as if he was an authority on the subject. He really wasn't an authority on the subject but he was good at taking centre stage. We saw a lot of violence on the streets of Glasgow then but also some amazing things happened. Talking about your colourful choices in life, I walked into an empty rehearsal room one day to hear a rather wonderful actor/musician singing and playing the piano. He told me that the song was about the city of Glasgow which he said lay in a valley beneath a dark grey cloud, all very black and white, I can't remember the name of the song or if he had written it or not....perhaps you know. That's very interesting to read from someone who was there. I remember the impact that the Citizens was having back then or more appropriately I remember the media attention as I never attended any shows. The political agenda and breaking the mould of the more established genre of theatre plays comes to mind. I particularly remember the furore of a Dracula production that had a naked Dracula 'arise' from the coffin- that made the headlines next day! I don't know if you've seen this before I think you might find it interesting. Ian MacDiarmid sums up the times at The Citizens www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/mar/04/ian-mcdiarmid-citizens-theatre-glasgow-1970sA very rare film from Scottish Screen Archive of the early days - 1972, no sound. Recognise Martin Lewis. ssa.nls.uk/film/4682I wish I could find that singer and/or that song you mentioned.
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Post by elmsliegirl on Jun 19, 2014 21:23:23 GMT
I have really enjoyed reading your reply here. Thank you. Ian McDiarmid interview really interesting. He worked with my son in law recently and my husband in recent years but his affection for the Citizens is clear. I think I also got the idea that he was the only Scot but I am sure David Hayman was from Scotland and certainly Lynn from stage management. Now it proves my point about forgetting, I had totally forgotten that Ian McDiarmid played Rebecca Nurse in 'The Crucible', I played Mary Warren, so I really should have remembered. I love what Ian McDeiarmid says about Giles running a brothel. It was a company of the most attractive young men you have ever seen and most of them were really encouraged to discover their femininity. Wonderful actually. I bought down my three Citizens books from upstairs on the landing just now. Dusty, chewed by our now long gone blood hound dog but much treasured and full of the most incredible photographs. I did discover that rare footage Citizens film the other day but didn't see it all, because I thought the sound had gone on my computer. Any way just saw it right through now as a silent piece. Recognised so many faces. Dear friend Ian Ribbens, Patrick Hannaway, Lew Collins (now gone), Jill Spurrier, Laurence Rudic, David Macdonald (now gone), David Yelland, Jeremy Blake, Dougie Heard. I think also the young man who sang the song I mentioned, Peter Kelly. I think I also saw Mike Gwilym who gave up being an actor but still rates in my books as one of the best I have known. Also shot of the iconic Giles on the telephone. As for the production of Dracula you mentioned. I played Lucy but I really can't remember a naked Dracula. A lot of people went naked in those days. Dracula was played by Dougie Heard. I do remember that one night the stage management put my coffin in the wrong way round and Lew Collins came very close to chopping my head off. Would take a bit of explaining.
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