Glasgow's Websters Theatre to stage bold new comedy play

This Is Where We Get Off, a bold debut comedy from HI! Productions taking to the stage at the Websters Theatre next month, tackles it all with a razor-sharp dose of wit.

Local directors, playwrights and producers, Heather Spiden,24, and Ingram Noble,23, met while working on a performance of Macbeth at Glasgow Kelvin College in 2017.

They became fast friends and soon realised that their shared ambitions stretched far beyond the stage.

Pictured: HI! Productions founders Heather Spiden and Ingram Noble

Ingram said: “After we had both finished studying, I had around thirty pages of a script that I had originally written for another project.

“Right before the first lockdown I was reading back over it and knew that it was good but didn’t quite have the right spark. It needed a woman’s touch.

(“As most things do.” Heather quips without missing a beat.)

“I took the pages I had printed out to Heather’s flat one night and said ‘Hey, I want to write this, but I can’t do it alone’.

“We sat for hours going through it together and laughed all the way through.

“We actually came up with the biggest plot twist in the play there and then.

“Five days later, Boris was on the telly telling us that the country was going into lockdown.”

What followed was two years of blood, sweat and zoom calls as the duo fought to bring their story to life while navigating ever-changing covid restrictions.

In that time, they succeeded in sourcing funds, finding their dream cast, and even setting up their own production company to truly establish themselves as a creative force to be reckoned with.

Pictured: The final flyer for This Is Where We Get Off

Looking back over it all Ingram said: “I’m not sure there are many people in the world who will have experienced the same kind of process as we did while writing the play.

“Having had that extra time and space to focus, I feel like we’ve managed to develop these amazing characters that will feel like your family.

"Everyone will know a Sylvia, a Rhonda or a Lip and we’ve really struck lucky with the cast.

Heather agreed: “The audition process was one of the highlights of this whole experience for me.

“Seeing that much talent made me wish we had more parts to give out.

“One of our cast members actually taught us at college which is a surreal situation to be in.

“It took some getting used to but she’s a fantastic actress and has been so supportive of us taking on roles as producers.

“The entire cast is just perfect.”

Through rigorous rewrites, Ingram and Heather’s script has been honed into an audacious two-hour play, described as a vibrant mash-up of Gavin and Stacey, Shameless and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of crisps.

Audiences will be introduced to Sylvia, a morally questionable Grandmother who returns to make amends with her dysfunctional family following a shock dementia diagnosis.

While the eccentric characters of the Moffat family make for plenty of comic relief, there’s no mistaking that the production packs a weighty emotional punch.

Pictured: The cast meet for one of their first in person rehearsals

Heather said: “Ingram’s gran had dementia when he was younger, and just as we started developing the script my gran was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

“Some scenes are hard to watch, but that’s where we’ve tried to bring an element of reality to the story to resonate with the audience, despite it being a comedy.

Ingram added: “The fact that Heather has been going through this all while we’re writing has given us such a sensitivity to the way we portray the character on stage.

“Right from the start, we said ‘if we achieve anything here, then it has to be that these scenes are done right'.

“It’s brought us closer too because we’ve had this unique way of sharing our experiences of having a loved one who has suffered from dementia.”

With only five rehearsals left before the show, a two-year journey for This Is Where We Get Off has almost reached its peak.

As talk turns to opening night nerves, the close connection that the young playwrights have developed is clear leaving no doubt that their shared passion and raw talent will soon see HI! Productions become a key player in Glasgow’s theatre scene.

Ingram said: “I’m very confident about the play. It’s looking amazing and even now two years on in rehearsals we’re laughing like there’s no tomorrow.

“The other night I was reading online that the creators of Still Game had their first performance at the Websters, and it felt strangely reassuring.

“I phoned Heather and said ‘This is a sign. We’re going to make it big.’

This Is Where We Get Off will be performed at the Websters Theatre on April 21.

For more information or to book tickets click here.

50 pence from all programme sales on the night will go directly to Battle Against Dementia as part of an ongoing partnership with HI! Productions.