"Fair Friday" - June 2011

I'm too young to have witnessed the mass exodus from Glasgow 'doon the watter' each July, but as a child I spent the odd day cycling round Millport and remember fondly a trip on the Waverley. So the Citizens Community Company's "Fair Friday" rekindled memories while also giving an idea of just how significant an event it must have been in its heyday.

Combining true tales, moments of comedy and traditional Glasgow songs it was clear to see it resonating with sections of the audience old enough to have experienced the reality for themselves. It was pretty incredible to see so many people singing along to songs that I'd never heard of - it certainly made me wonder about other parts of Glaswegian culture I've missed out on.

As with all youth, community and amateur shows we share our thoughts on them in the same manner as we do professional shows - we don't believe in making 'allowances'. Indeed, one of the things that influenced that 'policy' was the high standard that the Citz Community Co have delivered over the years - their "Wicked Christmas" shows are a regular highlight of our year. And with that in mind, we did feel that "Fair Friday" was not as polished as previous shows - while still clearly well received by the audience. The songs were a great success, however some of the scenes lacked impact and perhaps due to there being so many entrances and exits there were a couple of stumbled lines.

One of the enjoyable things about seeing the group's shows year after year is seeing familiar faces develop, but it was also good to see a number of new faces this time around. It's to the credit of all involved how successful the company has been over a prolonged period. And we've already booked up for this year's Christmas show.

Fair Friday has completed its run at the Citizens.