A TRUE-LIFE story of a custodial sentence handed out for six unpaid parking tickets might not sound like typical comedy inspiration, but for actor Libby McArthur, it is a humorous look at what happened to her and the people she met along the way.
In For a Penny, her one-woman show at Webster’s Theatre as part of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, is set in a Scottish court and its holding cells.
“In for a Penny is a play about women being locked up for debt,” Libby said. “I was a single mum and I was at my wit’s end that my seven-year-old boy would be taken into care.
“As Scotland still has one of the highest rates of imprisonment for women in Europe, I have teamed up with social justice campaigners Justice Watch to help raise awareness of the continued plight of women, many with children, still being handed custodial sentences that could be avoided.”
She will host a Q&A after each show with Justice Watch and a panel of members made up of those affected by or working to change the system.
The campaign group was launched in 2016, successfully preventing the building of a super prison for women in Inverclyde.
A year’s observation in sheriffs’ courts revealed many of the women appearing were suffering the effects of poverty and multiple trauma, including housing problems, domestic and sexual abuse, addiction, and mental health difficulties.
Solicitor advocate Gary McAteer of Beltrami & Company said:
“In For a Penny is like a trip down memory lane.
“It conjures up the Dickensian conditions in the old Glasgow District Court and the way people were treated. It makes you question whether much has changed.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here