EXCERPTS from the newest version of one of Scotland most popular productions appear on The National's website from today.
Characters from The Steamie quote lines from Tony Roper's well-loved script ahead of its “steamier-than-ever” run at Glasgow's SSE Hydro between Christmas and new year.
With a beefed-up cast, dancers, original songs by David Anderson and a live band taking audiences back to the 1950s washhouse, the Hogmanay-set production sees Louise McCarthy and Gayle Telfer Stevens aka award-winning comedy duo The Dolls make their Steamie debut as the feisty Magrit and gullible Dolly.
The clips, shot by local photographer and filmmaker Beth Chalmers, show the duo delivering lines on set in full make-up and costume ahead of the festive run at the 1300-seater Hydro, the largest entertainment venue in Scotland.
The pair will join Mary McCusker as the wistful Mrs Culfeathers and Fiona Wood as optimistic youth Doreen, roles they performed in 2012 and 2017 to mark the play's 25th and 30th anniversaries. Musician/actor Harry Ward joins the women as Andy, the washhouse's tipsy handyman.
The revamped show is the fourth time Neil Laidlaw has produced The Steamie, having been at the helm for the anniversary shows and a tour in 2009.
“We have brought together a fantastic cast,” Laidlaw says. “The inimitable Dolls, Louise McCarthy and Gayle Telfer Stevens, who I know decided to be actors because of The Steamie, and Harry Ward are our newbies with the wonderful Fiona Wood and Mary McCusker reprising their roles of Doreen and Mrs Culfeathers.”
The producer adds: “The Steamie is one of Scotland’s best-loved plays and I am extremely proud to be able to bring it back for another generation to enjoy, this time with new songs and a bigger cast and set.”
Roper recently recalled how he was “beyond petrified” when The Steamie – the comedy actor's first play – opened at the 300-seater Crawford Theatre in Glasgow's west end in 1987.
“In my late forties I sat down with a biro and a jotter and wrote my first ever play,” he says. “Over three decades later, the play is still getting the laughs and the cries, connecting with another generation of Scots.”
Now 78, Roper says audiences “won't ever forget” the new production, which sets out to give your chuckle muscles a vigorous workout after the Christmas slump.
“We want to take you back to Glasgow in the fifties,” he says. “We want to fill your heads with wonder, and above all else, laughter.”
December 27 to 31, SSE Hydro, Glasgow, various times, from £25.55. Tel: 0800 952 0110. www.thessehydro.com www.thesteamieplay.com
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