Protest against Scottish pub's men-only policy inspires new play half a century later

Police were called after women refused to leave Aberdeen bar

It was one of Scotland's most celebrated sex discrimination protests - against a notorious ban against women being served in a city centre pub.

Now the storming of The Grill bar in Aberdeen more than half a century ago is set to inspire a new stage play.

Morna Young, the leading Scottish writer behind a new adaptation of the classic north-east novel Sunset Song, is working on a play which will recall an impromptu protest which was staged by delegates attending a conference on the other side of Union Street in April 1973.

The Grill bar has been a fixture of Union Street in Aberdeen since 1870. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

After spending the day debating sex discrimination and inequality, they were roused into action by Jacquie Blair, a young shop steward from a mill in Greenock, who had spotted a “no ladies please” sign outside the public on her way to the conference at the Music Hall.

When a group of female conference delegates who had entered the pub were refused service they were bought drinks by their male counterparts – to the fury of the management of what was by then one Scotland's few men-only pubs.

When the women dismissed demands to leave the premises, the police were called to break up the protest, which went on to make national newspaper headlines.

Moray-born Young is developing the play with Aberdeen Arts Centre after it was selected as one of 10 projects for support by the Scottish Society of Playwrights to mark its 50th anniversary.

The Grill bar has been a fixture of Union Street in Aberdeen since 1870. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

The project has been announced months after The Grill incident was highlighted in a BBC Scotland documentary series highlighting stories of women who were determined to challenge the status quo and battle inequalities.

Young suggested she would write a story inspired by The Grill bar protest after being asked to collaborate with the centre by director Amy Liptrott.

Young said: “We had a lot of great chats about the arts centre being a hub for new writing and the kind of work we both really wanted to see there. This is an idea that’s buzzing around in my head for a well.

“There are just so many elements of the storming of The Grill bar, like the ‘no ladies please' sign and the fact that the women who stormed the bar were at a trade union conference, that make it such a fantastic story.

The Grill bar in Aberdeen was targeted for its men-only policy by a group of female conference delegates in 1973.

“Every time it has come up again over the years I've felt just as keen to write about it.

"With the 50th anniversary of the SSP and the protest passing recently, as well as the BBC documentary, it feels like the pieces of the jigsaw are really coming together.”

The Grill, which dates back to 1870, when it was initially run as a restaurant, introduced a men-only only policy in 1925 when new owner John Innes hung the ‘no ladies please’ sign in the window. Although such establishments were outlawed by the introduction of legislation two years after the protest in Aberdeen, it resisted change until 1998 when it finally installed a ladies toilet.

Recalling the protest in the BBC documentary, Jacquie Blair said: “I remember getting off the bus to go to the conference and passing a pub. I'd seen a notice saying ‘no ladies.’ I just thought ‘I can’t believe it.’

Writer Morna Young is working on a new play inspired by a 1973 protest at The Grill bar in Aberdeen over its men-only policy.

“The whole day was talking mostly about equality. I said ‘we’re talking about equality and equal pay here, when there’s a pub across the street who don’t even serve women.’

"I remember some of the faces of the men when we walked in. The owner was quite shocked. I got to the front of the bar but they wouldn’t serve us. The male shop stewards who were there bought the women a drink. It was quite good-natured, but the owner asked us to leave. I just said: ‘I’m not leaving.’ They phoned for the police.

“It was about more than just getting a drink in a pub. There was a bigger picture because women were getting treated like second-class citizens. We just wanted equality.”

Young said she wanted to use the play to explore why there appeared to be a “push back” on women’s rights and equality around the world.

The show, which is hoped to deploy the stage and foyer areas at the arts centre, is also expected to explore how much progress has been made on equality over the last 50 years, but will also examine how welcoming modern-day places and spaces are, including theatres.

She added: “The fact that it was trade unionists who stormed The Grill bar is something I really want to pull on. I worked for the union UNISON for while I was living in London and I’ve always been really interested in trade unionism.

Shop steward Jacquie Blair led the protest at The Grill bar in Aberdeen over its men-only policy in 1973.

"Trade unions are not in great shape at the moment. Where are women’s rights now? Theatres are really suffering in a post-pandemic world.

“I’m really interested in how theatres use their spaces and what they can be doing with them for their local communities. I keep thinking about having a chorus of community women in the play.”

Young admitted she often still fell out of place walking into theatres around the country despite having worked with many of them.

She added: “Although I went to the panto at Eden Court in Inverness when I was young, theatre spaces have always felt like a different realm to me.

“I could walk into any pub anywhere and feel comfortable. But I get this slight fear when I walk into theatres. I feel that I don’t quite belong there, while pubs feel like safe spaces to me for some reason. It’s really interesting to me and I really want to ask myself about it with this project.”

Amy Liptrott, who has been leading Aberdeen Arts Centre since 2022, said: “I'm really excited to work with Morna again and explore the possibilities for telling the story around the storming of The Grill.

“This project marks an important step in our future to support north-east talent and create work in, for and by creatives in the north-east.”