SMALL ACTS OF LOVE Will Reopen The Citizens Theatre in 2025

The Citizens Theatre has announced Small Acts of Love as the show which will reopen the theatre in 2025.

Small Acts of Love is a major new work about the bonds of friendship forged between the people of Lockerbie and the American relatives in the wake of the Pan Am 103 atrocity in December 1988.

Commissioned by the Citizens Theatre’s Artistic Director Dominic Hill, this new theatrical and musical collaboration between playwright Frances Poet and composer Ricky Ross (Deacon Blue) is set to be the first production audiences can look forward to seeing when the Citizens Theatre reopens its iconic Gorbals home. Presented in association with the National Theatre of Scotland, it will premiere in September 2025.

Spanning thirty-six years, the piece tells the story of how two communities from the Scottish borders and New York State were forced together in destruction. But through a series of small acts of kindness, found friendship and love.

The project has been painstakingly researched and contains representations of real people built from an extensive series of interviews with families and individuals who were directly affected by the Lockerbie bombing, both in Scotland and the USA.

A cast of 14 actor-singers and a five-piece roots band will bring the profound stories of these two communities to life.

The production is set to open the first season of on-stage work at the Citizens Theatre following the highly anticipated completion of redevelopment works on the building. The company originally moved out of its historic home in the Gorbals in June 2018, as work began on the first major redevelopment of the Category B listed building since it began life as a working theatre in 1878.

In the years since, the Citizens Theatre has continued to present productions across Glasgow and Scotland in venues, car parks and community centres. Its participation programme has never stopped, including a recent 8 month residency in the Gorbals primary schools. Now the company is preparing to return to its home venue as building works enter their final phase. In Spring 2025, a full programme announcement of shows beginning from autumn 2025 is set to be revealed, alongside information on a reopening festival in August 2025. 

Frances Poet, playwright, said: “I don’t think I have written anything before where I have felt such a weight of responsibility to tell people’s stories with authenticity, sensitivity and care. The people of Lockerbie poured their trauma into acts of kindness, received with grace and courage by the relatives. This is not a piece about the horrific act of violence on that night in December 1988. It’s about the 36 years since. It’s about the generosity and resilience humans are capable of. I can’t wait to see these inspiring and profound stories brought to life on the Citizens Theatre stage next year.”

Dominic Hill, Artistic Director, Citizens Theatre said: “This is a big, ambitious production about love and friendship in the face of the most extraordinary adversity. We think it is a story we know, but the play and songs reveal how the people of Lockerbie and the American relatives forged something beautiful from the tragedy of their ordeal. At the Citz, being part of a community is at the heart of what we do. So it feels right that our first production on stage should showcase that humanity and heart. It’s been wonderful to develop this commission into a full production and I can’t wait to see it on the main stage of the new Citizens Theatre when we reopen in 2025. This is a very exciting moment to be able to announce our first show and look forward to welcoming audiences back next year.”
 

Ricky Ross, composer, said: “I have been passionate about this project from the moment Frances and I first sat down to talk about the idea over four years ago. It has been a fascinating and incredibly moving experience and I have loved composing the songs and music that interweave with the text. The Citz is my local theatre. I’m delighted to be part of its opening season, and to be able to tell this poignant and heartwarming story on that stage.”

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