Cumbernauld Theatre Will Stage at New Adaptation of Rona Munro's BOLD GIRLS

A new production of Bold Girls by Rona Munro will open on 24th September in Cumbernauld. The play is being produced in-house at Cumbernauld Theatre Trust's new home at Lanternhouse, a state-of-the-art performing arts centre based at Cumbernauld Community Campus.

It's 1991 in West Belfast. Despite the bombs, the soldiers, and their husbands being either locked away or killed, Marie, Cassie, and Nora are determined to get on with their lives. That is, until a mysterious young woman turns up on Marie's doorstep, disrupting their girls' night out and bringing devastating revelations that threaten to leave their friendships changed forever. Sharply funny, moving, yet never shying from the harsh realities of life during the Troubles, Bold Girls is a celebration of women's strength under siege.

This new production is being directed by Michael Duke, former Tinderbox Theatre Company (Belfast) Artistic Director, who is originally from County Down, and currently based in Glasgow. It will star Pauline Goldsmith, Katya Searle, Julie Martis, and Leigh Lothian.

The play is returning to Cumbernauld more than 30 years after its first performance there, where the acclaimed original production by the legendary 7:84 company opened in 1990. Touring Scotland in 1991, it also appeared at London's Hampstead Theatre with a cast including Imelda Staunton and Catherine Cusack. Rona Munro won the 'Evening Standard' Most Promising Playwright Award and the Susan Smith Blackburn Award in 1991, and the play eventually became part of the Scottish school curriculum. Bold Girls has since been re-staged numerous times, including a 1999 production at Cumbernauld Theatre directed by then-Artistic Director Simon Sharkey.

Director Michael Duke said: 'This play is a modern classic - so many people in Scotland have seen it, or read it in school. Plays don't get that sort of status for no reason - it's full of brilliantly written characters that audiences recognise, it has a great story, and so many memorable moments. It's set against the darkest period of the conflict in Northern Ireland, among these women who are laughing and battling their way through desperate times, until they eventually have to face up to secrets that might break up even these life long friendships.'

Cumbernauld Theatre Trust started its life in 1963 as an informal group of local arts enthusiasts promoting events for the recently established population of the new town, and by 1963 established a theatre in a row of 18th century cottages. The cottage theatre closed in December 2019, with original plans to open the new performing arts venue delayed due to the pandemic.

Cumbernauld's new cultural home for theatre, cinema, music, comedy and dance opened in October 2021. Located in the heart of Cumbernauld, on the Cumbernauld Academy campus, this state-of-the-art venue houses two performance spaces - a 270-seat auditorium and Studio Theatre, a dance studio, and a newly opened 84-seat cinema and café.

Cumbernauld Theatre Chief Executive, Sarah Price said: 'With this new production of Bold Girls we celebrate one of Scotland's greatest female theatre writers, we celebrate our strong theatre tradition in Cumbernauld and we look ahead to engaging our schools and younger adult audiences in the stories that have shaped our world.'

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