Women often took the back step in rufty-tufty Glasgow in the 1970s and felt their voices were never heard.
Fast forward to 2026 and it’s all about female empowerment and Up a Close gives a fabulous insight into the struggles some women experienced.
Written by Tina Conway, who was born and raised in Maryhill in the north of the city, and directed by Victor Kennedy, the story was played out to a packed audience at The Pavilion in Glasgow on its opening night, before it goes on a tour of Scotland.
It’s a simple tale of Joanna (Geri Greenhill) who is waiting for her wayward husband John to come home after yet another night spent in the pub.
As the hours and days pass, locked in her tenement flat in Partick and waiting, Joanna looks back on how her life changed from the easy, happy days as a teenager (played by Amber Conway) to an anxious down trodden wife always waiting for her husband.
She tells of her fun days out with her best buddy Anne-Marie (Jamie Hunter), getting caught with a joint by the nuns at school and enjoying life until it all goes wrong with an accidental pregnancy, quick marriage and then dullness and her hopes of college and a happy family soon dissolving.
The play switches between young vibrant Joanna and the older worn one and both Geri Greenhill and Amber Conway give powerful performances.
There’s lots of laughs, mainly thanks to Auntie Sandra (Carolyn Calder) whose no nonsense character is strong and forceful and the audience lap up the old Glaswegian patter and musical blast back to the good old days of The Bay City Rollers.
As the play grows, so does the older Joanna’s resolve to fight back. With no husband to nag her, she tries a tipple of sherry, finds she likes it and then drinks the whole bottle as she decides to put herself first.
She makes plans to head to Australia where her two sons, John and Patrick fled as soon as they could to escape their father who beat their mother and made everyone’s life a misery.
It’s an incredibly moving story, written by Tina Conway, whose path took a much better turn than Joanna’s. Conway was the part owner of the famous Cleopatra’s Nightclub, known as “Clatty Pat’s” and was well known for her fashion shows which attracted top names including Vivienne Westwood and Christian La Croix.
With a simple set of the inside of a tenement, fabulous acting and an appreciative audience, who particularly loved joining in The Bay City Roller’s hit, “Shang-A-Lang” at the end, the play is just braw!
Up a Close is playing at the Whitehall Theatre, Dundee on 22nd August, Rothes Hall, Glenrothes on 27th August, Aberdeen Arts Centre on 29th August, Johnstone Town Hall on 4th and 5th September, Howden Park Theatre, Livingston on 9th September, Rutherglen Town Hall on 18th and 19th September, Central Stage, Kilmarnock on 7th October, Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline on 17th October, Airdrie Town Hall on 24th October, Troon Concert Hall on 31st October, with the final performance at the Denny Civic Theatre, Dumbarton on 7th November 2026. For more information and to book tickets, please visit: www.upaclose.com.
Author Bio:
Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.
Images courtesy of The Kingsman Theatre Company
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