Yes! Yes! UCS! – Lantern Theatre, Sheffield and Touring

Heather Gourdie and Janie Thomson in Yes! Yes! UCS! at the Lantern Theatre, Sheffield and Touring. Picture: Serey Greyling

Yes! Yes! UCS! was reviewed at the Lantern Theatre, Sheffield and continues touring until 1 May 2022.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Yes Yes UCS! is a new production by writer Neil Gore, which celebrates the historic ‘work-in’ at the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders between 1971 and 1972.

The story centres around Aggie McGraw, a fresh-faced school leaver from Govan, who joins the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders only a week before the company is threatened with closure, having been identified as a ‘lame-duck’ industry by the Tory Government. The show tells the story of those working in the shipyards and the struggle to save not only jobs but communities, as well as the right to work, through Aggie and fellow worker and friend Geraldine ‘Eddy’ Edson, giving the audience a very accessible window into life on the Clyde at this time.

Janie Thomson’s Aggie is very engaging – her portrayal of the somewhat awkward teen, and journey to becoming the strong assertive woman inspiring national support of the work-in, is utterly believable and one can’t help but root for her. Heather Gourdie is equally as enthralling as the confident, strong Eddy, portraying both her strong willed and weaker moments with real skill and emotion.

Both women are also skilled musicians, and singers with a number of instruments between them utilised throughout the show.

The production makes fantastic use of both sound and visual effects as tools for storytelling and to complement the musical numbers. Credit must be given here to Scarlett Rickard and Jonny Halifax as without their input this show wouldn’t be as engaging. The animations projected onto the set are really well thought out to evoke the era of the setting, and the Monty Python-esque animations provide tone and humour while moving the story along effectively and involving the audience.

Yes! Yes! UCS! contains a mix of known songs from the era, such as Nazareth’s ‘Go Down Fighting’, traditional folk and original numbers. The standout songs for me include ‘The Prologue’ – musical director Beth Porter’s music and Gore’s lyrics beautifully combine to take the audience through history to the present day.

Others are ’Hammer Song’ (words and music by Alex Harvey) which alongside the visuals does a fantastic job of setting the scene and feel of the busy yards  and ‘Pack Your Tools and Go’ (traditional song, lyrics Jimmie MacGregor) which as the opening song of Act II really sets the tone and emotion of the work-in that’s about to begin. The use of just voices and a loop pedal to create a soundscape of the shipyard is innovative and brilliant.

While politics can often be a divisive subject, the balance between human interest and the bigger picture is well struck overall, and the show’s themes & motifs certainly remain relevant today.

Sara Smith