A landmark Scottish workers’ story finally makes it to the stage.
1981 was not an easy year to be a factory worker on the Clyde. Unemployment was rising, corporations were reassessing which workforces were worth keeping, and in Greenock, 240 women at the Lee Jeans factory were told their jobs were going. They decided to do something about it.
They locked themselves in and barricaded the doors. The sit-in lasted seven months. They drew support from politicians, trade unionists and media around the world, and in the end, they won. The occupation is regarded as a significant chapter in Scottish labour history.
First time on stage
It’s never been told on stage before. Stand & Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In is the first theatrical work based on the occupation, a co-production from National Theatre of Scotland and Tron Theatre. It comes to Aberdeen Arts Centre on 12 and 13 May, as part of a Scottish tour running through to June.
Writer Frances Poet spent years in conversation with women who were there, and the script is rooted in those first-hand interviews. One of those women, Maggie Wallace, puts it plainly: “We had no idea at the time that it would go down in history. It seems like yesterday and it’s still so fresh in my mind.”
Why it still lands
Poet began developing this in 2020 and has said the play has felt “increasingly resonant” with each year. It’s not hard to see why. A period of economic instability, multinational corporations writing off workforces, women’s labour treated as disposable: none of that is ancient history. The production leans on humour as well as solidarity, keeping things grounded in real people rather than turning them into symbols.
The show runs with a live 1980s soundtrack.
Naming the women
The production team are trying to compile a definitive list of everyone involved in the original sit-in, so they can be named and honoured in the show. It’s a small detail, but a meaningful one. These women spent decades largely uncelebrated outside of Inverclyde. Having their names in a show playing to audiences across Scotland is different from a footnote in a history book. If you have a connection to the occupation, the National Theatre of Scotland website has details on how to get in touch.
It took 45 years for this story to reach a stage. Some of those women are still alive, and they will be invited to a special event ahead of the tour’s final performances in Greenock, close to where it all happened. That’s not a footnote. It’s the whole point.
Stand & Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In plays at Aberdeen Arts Centre on 12 and 13 May 2026. Tickets available from the Arts Centre Box Office.
