Gorbals exhibition and multimedia project
I was commissioned by National Theatre of Scotland to complete a travelling exhibition and a short film documenting the Gorbals and Glasgow in transition. The film and exhibition will be shown alongside the play Men Should Weep that will open at the Citizens Theatre in September to October and then will travel with the play as it tours Scotland. The play is set in 1930′s Gorbals and is a moving and funny portrayal of impoverished 1930s Glasgow, a raw salute to the human spirit. The play by Ena Lamont Stewart was voted one of the top hundred plays of the last century in the NT millennium poll.
I was commissioned to produce a short documentary on life in the Gorbals today and I managed to track down an old lady Rose White, who was 89 years old and had lived through the very timeframe I was documenting. In the end, she got the starring role. But it was a tight schedule, 2.5 weeks for what should have been a 3 month project but it was a great challenge to research, stalk the streets of the Gorbals, print a selection of work and shoot, record interviews and edit to complete a short 7 minute film. I can only dream of what would have possible if I had more time, but you can view the film below. To see the exhibition and the play you can buy your tickets here.
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Dear Mr Leslie, I must say the short 7 minute film about life in the Gorbals was very heart rending to me as I lived in the Oatlands area of Glasgow [born 1948] in Fauldhouse st where St Bonaventures school +”steamie” once stood, evacuated in 1961 when the back of our tenement collapsed through old age and my family +me were shifted to one of the new housing estates on the outskirts of Glasgow and I hated it. I missed the close knit community spirit etc etc, anyway Mr Leslie I could associate with all that Rose said and to me the Gorbals [I was only a 5 minute walk away from the top end of the Oatlands where I lived] will always be “the old Gorbals” in my minds eye. To see the old photos entwined with Rose’s words were very moving to me and I thank you for you creating that, I wish you good luck with the play, I wish I could see it but I left Glasgow to build bricks halfway round the world in 1968 + never returned to live [just a few holidays] and ‘am retired living in London/England. Thanks for the memory Mr Leslie. Danny Gill
Hi, I am Rose’s grandaughter and I would just love to say what a lovely piece you have put together. I never tire of her stories of the “old” Gorbals. Seeing it all brought to life with her stories and your pictures is very heartwarming. Good luck with your play. Rosalind