Iconic Theatre to Reopen with New Play About Lockerbie Response

The Citizens Theatre in Glasgow is set to reopen with a new theatrical production centered on the town of Lockerbie’s reaction to the Pan Am tragedy. Titled “Small Acts of Love,” the play highlights the residents of the Dumfries and Galloway town who undertook the task of cleaning, pressing, and mending the garments and possessions of those passengers and crew members who perished when a bomb detonated on the transatlantic flight in 1988. Playwright Frances Poet collaborated with Ricky Ross, the lead singer of Deacon Blue, to compose the musical score for this production. This event marks the first performance at the renowned theatre since its closure for renovations in 2018. The venue is scheduled to receive patrons again in Autumn next year, featuring a performance by a 14-member ensemble of actor-singers accompanied by a five-piece band. The bombing incident, occurring just days prior to Christmas, resulted in the fatalities of all 259 individuals aboard Pan Am flight 103, in addition to 11 Lockerbie inhabitants who died when debris impacted a residential area. The playwright, based in Glasgow, dedicated time to investigating the community’s reaction following the catastrophe. Poet engaged with 13 victim families and 30 individuals, all of whom expressed willingness for their narratives to be incorporated into the finished production. She stated that “the world lost some amazing people” in the tragic event, further explaining her desire to emphasize these individuals instead of the disaster itself. She recounted, “A nineteen- year-old whose diary includes a list of tips for life that just show such insight. A family man whose wife and he were born in the same hospital and from the moment they got together they barely spent any time apart.” She continued, “We wanted to honour them and to do that I wanted to be able to name them.” “Often with things that are so traumatic, it can take a few years for people to feel able to talk about it,” she observed. She further commented, “This is about hope and not about hate. That people can come together in grief rather than be driven apart.” Abdelbasset Al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence agent, received a conviction for the murder of 270 individuals and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001, following a determination by three Scottish judges that he had been instrumental in the bombing. In 2009, Megrahi was released by the Scottish government on humanitarian grounds due to a terminal cancer diagnosis. He consistently maintained his innocence and passed away in Libya three years subsequent to his release. A second Libyan national, Abu Agila Masud, is scheduled to face trial in May next year at a federal court in Washington, where he stands accused of constructing the explosive device. Earlier this month, a portion of the aircraft’s wreckage, encompassing sections of the fuselage, was transported to the United States to serve as evidence. Ross commented that the narrative continues to impact Scotland 36 years subsequent to the event. He stated, “Lots of people will know where they were on that night and out of that terrible story you get a kind of afterlife, which is full of individual moments of human connection.” He added, “Frances had done so much research with the families about all the individuals involved and when you hear those stories, you hear the songs. It’s a gut instinct.” This production will mark the initial stage performance at the venerable theatre in seven years. The restoration initiative, representing the most extensive undertaking ever at the 19th-century theatre located in the Gorbals, has encountered delays due to Covid and escalating expenses. Last summer, Glasgow City Council, the proprietor of the theatre, issued a warning that the project faced “imminent danger of liquidation” without additional financial support. Subsequently, the Scottish government has provided an extra £8m, elevating their cumulative contribution to £14m. The initial cost of the project, commenced in 2019, was projected at £20m; however, present estimations indicate it could potentially reach twice that figure. The theatre reported securing 92% of the necessary funding, with an additional £3.5m yet to be acquired. Dominic Hill, the artistic director, expressed his desire for a “brand new, ambitious and Scottish” creation to commemorate the conclusion of the protracted project. “I guess people expected us to open with a revival of a Shakespeare play but the new Citizens Theatre is going to be as much about new stories as the classics so this felt like an important statement,” he remarked. He concluded, “That was just one of a number of incredible small acts of love that the people of Lockerbie showed the relatives of victims from Pan Am 103 and that became the starting point for this play.”