Have just returned from watching ‘We’re Not Going Back’ by Red Ladder Theatre Company at Theatre Mwldan Cardigan. A very impressive, inspiring hard hitting musical comedy about the 1984/85 miners’ strike.
Initially at first was not quite sure how a musical could be made out of this turbulent peice of history but it worked really well.
It’s February 1984, and as the rumour mill stirs with developments of impending pit closures, the coal miners’ unions anxiously prepare for the imminent war against the government. Forced into unemployment, miners and their families take up the fight and become part of a battle that will change the course of history.
The miners' strike brought devastating hardship and conflict not just to the men but to families and entire communities. The wives, suddenly thrown to the forefront, had their own struggles and this is their story, The performance looked sympatheticaly at the the strike through the eyes of three sisters, aided by a woman musician in a village in the heart of the South Yorkshire mining district.
The three sisters are older sister, Olive, staid, restrained, pious, maternal; eighteen-year-old Izzy, black-clad college dropout, Morrissey-mad and miserable, and the bubbly, fun-loving Mary.
Their family squabbles and fallouts are the background to a story of defiance, resilience and determination as they are drawn into the struggle for their community’s survival as the banner with the slogan ‘Coal not Dole’ is prominently displayed constantly reminding the audience what is at the heart of the matter. Instead of focusing on the conflict between miners, police, judiciary and government, the musical centres on the way the struggle completely changes the sisters’ lives.
We share the conversations and arguments of the women, their establishment of Carston Women Against Pit Closures and their fight to hold their relationships and communities together, becoming active, tireless organisers and leaders. In the process, the sisters learn the value of empowerment, determination and adventure as they discover their own capabilities.
As the strike progresses, the prayerful, demure Olive becomes emboldened chief agitator for "Women Against Pit Closures", 'delivering' her church's collection to the cause while struggling to cling to her faith. Izzy's ostracised boyfriend, Dean, is forced to rethink his career with the police force if he hopes to keep her, while Mary, forced now to work, starts to feel her feet and climb the ladder to a whole new world.
While there's no stinting on graphic detail and tragedy, there wass no wallowing in self-pity wither. Brave, light-hearted optimism shines through direst adversity, bringing hilarity and belly laughs from start to finish .
A powerful moving piece of work that succeded in vividly taking me back 40 years to this time of struggle that was one of the defining moments that fuelled my own political direction at this time.
A word about the title. The men, of course, did go back , but it is the women who vowed, “We’re not going back” – and such is still the case, with Women Against Pit Closures still active.
2024 happens to be the fortieth anniversary of the 1984/85 miners’ strike, a dispute that still resonates today, and the performance also fittingly reminded us all, that the working class is under more attack than ten years ago when the play was originally written. with increasing ferocity, and like then we must continue to stand in solidarity, and despite setbacks remain strong.
I Strongly recommend this piece of theatre, that tackles the resilience of working communities, the make-and-mend fabric of family, and the power of sticking two fingers up to a government hell-bent on destruction and all done with humour, wonderful acting ,wonderful songs whilst being wonderfully written, by ex-Chumbawamba guitarist, Boff Whalley, so if you get a chance go and see it,
We're Not Going Back Trailer
