GLASGOW Girls comes to Edinburgh's King's Theatre next week and we have a pair of tickets up for grabs for the performance next Wednesday night (January 23).

The life-affirming, song-and-dance-filled musical drama, based on the true story of seven teenagers, whose lives change forever when their friend and her asylum-seeking family are forcibly taken from their home to be deported. The young women take a stand and fight for the rights of their friend and, ultimately, for the rights of all children of asylum-seekers.

This potent political drama uses uplifting songs, music, dance and humour to tell the Glasgow Girls’ tale. Its universal appeal and ecstatic audience response ensured it was a massive hit at Edinburgh Fringe in 2016, selling more tickets than any other show in the festival.

It has been the winner: Best New Musical, Off West End Awards; and Winner: Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award.

Presented by Raw Material in association with Regular Music. Conceived for the stage and directed by Cora Bissett. rom the book by David Greig.

The policy of detaining children for immigration purposes was ended by the UK coalition government in 2010. The Glasgow Girls’ campaign played an important part in the decision to change the law. But just who are the Glasgow Girls?

Glasgow had previously seen an influx in asylum seekers due to the city council’s decision to sign a contract with UK border Agency’s dispersal programme – the only local authority in Scotland to do so.

By the end of 2001 Glasgow had 8000 new temporary citizens who had been moved there on a no choice basis. Around 80 per cent of the 8000 were families with children. In 2005, Agnesa Murselaj, a 15 years old pupil at Drumchapel High School in Glasgow, was dawn raided and detained with her family. She could just have been another statistic but her school friends, many of them fellow asylum seekers, decided enough was enough. The Glasgow Girls were born.

With the support of charities and community groups, the girls kept the detention and dawn raid issue on the political agenda. In Kingsway, where the girls lived, the community took direct action, establishing a look-out system and holding candle-lit vigils outside the tower blocks to prevent families being dawn raided. Their determination raised awareness and brought about change:

To win the pair of tickets tell us where Glasgow Girls was a massive hit in 2016 and send your entry to the Times Office, 17 Bank Street, Lochgelly, KY5 9QQ by Monday January 21 or email your answer to editorialcentralfifetimes by January 21.

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