An award-winning Fifer who directed the opening segment of the spectacular Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on Wednesday night has defended the inclusion of a kiss between entertainer John Barrowman and another man.
In what was seen as a clear message to the 42 countries of the Commonwealth where it is still a crime to be gay, Glasgow-born Barrowman reached out to kiss the man before holding his hand during a sequence to celebrate Gretna Green, the village on the Scottish/English border that is celebrated as a destination for eloping couples.
Whilst there was plenty of support for the new found ‘Glasgow Kiss’ on social media, others have criticised its inclusion as the Commonwealth Games, like the Olympics, is not meant to be used for political purposes.
In an exclusive interview with The Courier, award winning director Andrew Panton, from Burntisland, who was in charge of the opening sequence ‘The Kingdom of the Scots’, revealed that the inclusion of the kiss was scripted.
He said: “When we decided we would do something on the subject of Gretna Green, we talked about whether Gretna Green, if it came to be now, would it be a place where women and men ran off to get married? What would it look like now? We realised it would be different.
“Scotland is one of the first countries where same sex marriage has been legalised. So what if we had boys and boys and girls and girls going there? John actually got married to his now husband at Gretna Green so it felt really really right. There are 42 countries in the Commonwealth where homosexuality is illegal. And we all know what happened in the run-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics with the suppresion of homosexuals. The Commonwealth Games has values about humanity and equality, so it felt right to do this.”
Andrew, 40, a former pupil of Burntisland Primary and Balwearie High School in Kirkcaldy, said the organisers knew from the start that the content of the ceremony would be “divisive”. But it was not a political move, he said.
Organisers have been criticised by some for the “cheesy” inclusion of giant Tunnocks Teacakes, Nessie and the Forth Bridge on giant Irn Bru cans in the opening scenes.
But Glasgow-based Andrew said this had been a conscious decision. Working with artistic director David Zolkwer, he said his brief had been to examine the Scots’ perception of themselves and how others see them, and to “get everything out of the way” in the first 10 minutes of the show then “move on”.
He said: “Basically we came up with a list of things people thought we should include and a list of things people thought we shouldn’t. In the end, they ended up being the same list.
“Basically if we didn’t do these things it would have become the elephant in the room. Yes, we could have done a piece about how ‘cool’ we are. But we can’t do that in Scotland. We might be cool but we can’t tell others we are.
“That’s not what people in Glasgow do. We prefer to be self-deprecating!”
Andrew, who has held residencies at The Royal & Derngate Theatres, Perth Theatre, Stage Door (New York) and The Stephen Joseph Theatre, is the artistic director of musical theatre at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
He is also the creative director, vocal and performance coach for Susan Boyle who shot to fame following her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent in 2008 and went on to have the fastest selling UK debut album of all time.
When she and John Barrowman performed at the opening ceremony, he was monitoring the show in the control room passing on instructions direct to their ear pieces.
He said there was a “real buzz” backstage, adding: “It was fantastic. I’ve never experienced anything like it. This was about celebrating Scotland, Glasgow and our welcoming attitudes to the world.”