BARRICADES
April 1986
 

Cumbernauld News – March 16^th 1986 “Across the great divide”   1 | 2 | Top

Breaking down barriers has always been part of Cumbernauld Youth Theatre’s work.

But in their latest show, the talented young actors and actresses are building “Barricades” to look at what happens when two groups of people are legally kept apart by force.

Written and directed by Nick Fearne, “Barricades” is described as “an-entertaining modern parables, tinged with moments of humour, sadness and savagery”.

With a barbed wire fence, a workcamp, a tower and guards, the barricades are set right away. But the play concentrates on the tensions created within and between groups, as well as the sometimes extreme behaviour and individuals.

"The play is set in no particular place and no particular time, although is bears many similarities to many present world situations,” Nick said this week.

Tickets for “Barricades” cost £2 with £1 concessions. The show will be held in Cumbernauld Theatre at 7.45 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday) to Saturday.

The warning is that the show might not be appreciated by very young children.

The jarring sound of metal ran out all around, voices rose to a frenzied pitch and screams filled the air.

Barriers were thrown up all around as the forces of good and the forces of evil clashed, withdrew and tightened their defences.

The places? It could be any place where conflicts divide a nation and a people.

”Barricades”, written and directed by Nick Fearne and performed recently to appreciative audiences by Cumbernauld Youth Theatre, attempted to seek out the problems affecting countries – South Africa, Northern Ireland, the Lebanon amongst many – and show the bitter scars such aggression leaves behind.

The Action takes place over an 18-hour period in and around a “workcamp” where the men are confined by cruel guards while their women trek for miles to join them.

Clair O’Connor gave a convincing performance as the leader of the women and showed a cool detachment.

The go-between whose love affair with the “enemy” corporal allowed her to send messages to the men was played by Helena Craighead. Her conflict with the other women when they discovered her affair was on of the highspots in the production .

Rikki McMahon was the soldier caught up in the middle not totally agreeing with the action of his comrades but not strong enough until the final moments to change his allegiance.

The malicious caption of the guard (Ian Tait) was superb with his every action striking fear into all

Ray Dowling as the crazed worker who believed that his family had died, had a fine cameo role.

“Barricades” did not entertain me, but it did make me think – if only to wonder what hey hoped to achieve with this production. And why did I have that ominous feeling that I heard a lot of the lines somewhere before?

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