A play that tells the personal histories of Scottish members of the International Brigade has been reimagined for the main stage after the success of its first rural run.
Glasgow-based writers Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse first started working on 549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War in 2014 after learning from Robbie’s grandfather about men from his hometown of Prestonpans who went to fight in the Spanish Civil War.
The play has since evolved into a national archive project of stories from men and women across Scotland who volunteered to fight fascism in the 1930s.
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Robbie and Jack were first introduced to George Watters, Bill Dickson, Jock Gilmour and Jimmy Kempton as the four men from Prestonpans who would become the four characters in the play, but the writers became passionate about telling the stories of the other 545 Scots who joined the war effort.
They began tracking down any surviving family members of the Scottish International Brigade volunteers to hear their stories.
What followed was a digital archive project that reveals the histories of volunteers from across the country in the regions the play will visit.
Robbie told the Glasgow Times: “The interesting thing is that a lot of these men and women travelled together, and they share a collective story.
“As much as we are focusing on the four from Prestonpans, we hope that the play has a universal feel of the 549 Scottish people that went to fight.”
The stories include five from Glasgow, including that of James Maley from Calton whose son Willy Maley also wrote a book and play on the subject.
Robbie said: “What we hope to do with this tour is collect some more stories and some more pictures and get more content up on our interactive website as well.
“So, it’s growing, ever growing and ever-expanding.”
Robbie and Jack, who founded the theatre company Wonder Fools, have revamped 549 with a new design from Becky Minto and an updated script that reflects the current socio-political landscape in Scotland.
Promising to be bigger and better than ever, VanIves, BBC Scottish Artist of the Year finalists, have designed the expanded score.
The play traverses time from four young people in an East Lothian pub in 2022 to four miners who travel from the streets of Prestonpans to the valleys of Spain in 1936.
The writers discovered a lot of similarities between the two eras when rewriting the play which reignited their passion for the story and the “magical” way that four ordinary people dropped everything to help those whose freedom was under threat in another country.
Robbie said: “Sadly, the parallels between what was going on in the 1930s and what's going on now seems to be ever growing.
“There was a far-right populism in the 1930s that a lot of these guys were fighting against.
“There was a cost-of-living crisis that they were living through.
“They were galvanising, and they were going on strikes and marches in order to fight for their rights.
“And there was international conflict bubbling.
“There's a lot of parallels right now with what's going on in Ukraine and what happened in Spain.
“I think for us, it feels more important now than ever to inform people and educate people that individuals, ordinary people, can have an extraordinary influence on the world and how things work.
“This concept of standing up for what you believe in is probably more important now than ever.”
The new script will address contemporary pay and work conditions that “are not going to help us survive as human beings and people not standing for that”, he added.
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The writers are excited to finally bring the event to Glasgow and will show at the Tron Theatre from October 6 to 8.
The team has a special treat for audiences with VanIves playing a gig before the showing on the 6th and the gig on the 7th will have a post-show discussion with historian Daniel Grey.
Robbie said: “We’re really excited about Glasgow and we’re just trying to get the word out that we’re on and we’re back.
“We’ve got a show that we’re really excited and proud about.”
More information on the play can be found at wonderfools.org and 549.scot.
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