Bus Regulation: The Musical

Bus Regulation: The Musical by Ellie Harrison is inspired by the 1980s hit musical ‘Starlight Express’, and features performers on roller skates to re-enact the history of public transport provision in the Strathclyde region from the post-war period to the present day.

Beginning with the municipal ownership of buses in the 1960s, through the 1968 Transport Act which created the Greater Glasgow PTE and the Trans-Clyde integrated system in 1979, Bus Regulation: The Musical takes you into the chaos caused by bus de-regulation in 1986, the numerous mergers & takeovers of the 1990s that followed, right up to the fragmented and expensive system we’re left with as a result. The Musical concludes with a celebration of Get Glasgow Moving’s proposals to re-regulate our region’s buses in order to create a world-class, fully-integrated and affordable public transport network fit for the 21st century.

Bus Regulation: The Musical (Strathclyde) is produced by Emily Furneaux and stars Sharon Fraser as ‘the Clippie’ alongside skaters from Glasgow Roller Derby, Mean City Roller Derby and Sugar & Spin Skate Crew. It is supported by Creative Scotland, Hope Scott Trust, Climate Fringe and Take Me Somewhere.

The Strathclyde Musical builds on the success of Bus Regulation: The Musical (Greater Manchester) staged at Manchester Art Gallery in 2019 in collaboration with the Better Buses for Greater Manchester campaign. This paved the way for the Mayor’s historic decision in March 2021 to proceed with re-regulating the region’s bus network – the first UK city region to do so since 1986.

Accessibility

This will be a fun, family-friendly event performed to music and disco lights in the Theatre at the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA). The Theatre is on the first floor of the CCA building and is wheelchair accessible via the main lift on the ground floor. The event will be captioned and accessible via a hearing loop. If you have questions about accessibility or have any additional needs please do get in touch. We are also able to contribute to your transport costs if expensive bus fares are a barrier to attending the event from different parts of the region. Please contact producer Emily Furneaux for details: emilytofurneaux@gmail.com