THESE ARE OUR NEIGHBOURS by Katharine Williams premieres at the Citz in October

This autumn, Glasgow Southside’s Citizens Theatre will host the world premiere of a brand new dance theatre show by Katharine Williams, inspired by the infamous attempted raid on Kenmure Street in 2021 and the powerful eight-hour act of shared resistance that followed.

Produced by Scottish new writing company RUPTURE, co-produced by acclaimed Glasgow-based laboratory theatre company Company of Wolves (The Bacchae – Edinburgh Fringe, Scottish Tour) and Katharine Wiliams (Miracle on Deanston Drive – PPP), in association with Citz associate artists Bijli; THESE ARE OUR NEIGHBOURS shines a light on everyday humanity, strength and courage – honouring what happens when people come together to stand up for each other.

Created in Glasgow Southside through extensive research and development with the community, including many who were at the Kenmure Street protest, THESE ARE OUR NEIGHBOURS combines testimony, movement, music, and light to recount and celebrate the grassroots mobilisation, peaceful resistance, and solidarity on display that day.

More pressing than ever in light of ICE raids across the USA and hardening nativism in the UK, THESE ARE OUR NEIGHBOURS is brought to premiere through an intensely collaborative process, involving writer and lead artist Katharine Williams, director Ewan Downie, associate director Shilpa T-Hyland, performers Umar Butt and Leticia Sanchez, composer John Biddle, and designer Alisa Kalyanova.

Katharine Williams, writer and lead artist, commented: “Throughout the journey of making THESE ARE OUR NEIGHBOURS, people who were at the protest have been central. Everything in the script is true, and comes either from interviews or published testimonies. This show owes its existence to the community that came together that day. It is their story, and it is our privilege to tell it.“

During the final rehearsal week in October, rehearsals will be open to the public, including those who were at the protest, to once again immerse the play’s process in the community it was developed with. As well as rehearsing, the community attendees and the team from the show will have time together to share food and conversation. The production is surrounded by an integrated participation programme, including workshops and talks for emerging artists, for South Asian artists, and for the wider Southside community, including people with experience of migration either in their personal history or that of their families.

THESE ARE OUR NEIGHBOURS premieres in the Citizens Theatre’s Studio Theatre with five performances from Wednesday 14th – Saturday 17th October 2026.