Lubna Kerr is a chatterbox.
This is a piece as timely as it is charming
A warm and witty one, as it turns out.
But it wasn't always this way.
Back in 1970s Glasgow, little Lubna was labelled as stupid because of how her Urdu-programmed brain processed English.
This semi-autobiographical piece explores how the labels we are slapped with in childhood can shape our later lives. Using Lubna's formative years as the prism through which we revisit a palette of kindness, racism, and kindly racism; we are wrapped in the love of a family devoted to each other and the joys of attaining the little ambitions that each of us cherish. In a normal world, we would be shaking our heads sadly and thanking the Gods for progress. In 2024, however, all bets are off. This is a piece as timely as it is charming: a reminder, for those who need it, that we are all in possession of the same hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, and passions.
And Lubna's passion is for words.
But the bright, bubbly Lubna is not afforded the same opportunities as her classmates. And as we listen to the casual slights and putdowns which set her on a successful scientific career rather than the literary one she so longed for; we cannot help but simmer with sadness for all of the bright eyes dimmed by the petty jealousies and inadequacies of prejudice.
Kerr is engaging throughout, bouncing about the stage and embodying a range of other characters with energy and attack. She has created a script which burns with rather more joie de vivre than injustice, and this infectious inability to be squashed drives the plot and infuses the central 'character'. The clutter on the stage is a testament to a past life: of three channels on the telly and Brian Johnston on the radio. The school uniform reminds us that we all carry our small selves with us into adulthood.
There are many reasons to pop by and spend an hour with this chatterbox, and the slices of ginger cake being offered on arrival are just one. But ultimately, it is because we owe it to our own little selves to reclaim whatever was once squeezed out of us by others.
