'Rouse, Ye Women' at the Baptist Church Hall, Harrow - April 16th 2019

APR 16 - 7.30PM - BAPTIST CHURCH HALL, COLLEGE ROAD HARROW HA1 3BA  

BOX OFFICE: will@geecorp.com/ https://lineupnow.com/event/rouse-ye-women-6

 'Rouse Ye Women' tells the remarkable story of Mary Macarthur and the women chainmakers of Cradley Heath. Who led by the charismatic union campaigner Mary Macarthur managed to more than double their earnings and establish the principle of a national minimum wage.

 

A new folk ballad by Neil Gore and John Kirkpatrick telling the true story of Mary Macarthur and the women chainmakers

Townsend Theatre Productions is delighted to announce its cast for the world premiere of Rouse, Ye Women!, a new folk ballad telling the true story of Mary Macarthur and the women chainmakers.

The role of trade unionist and strike leader Mary Macarthur will be performed by Scottish folk singer Bryony Purdue. Purdue is an outstandingly versatile and charismatic performer and has sung with UK Opera companies Opera GlassWorks, Longborough Festival Opera and touring ensembles VoxCollective and Transatlantic Ensemble.

Folk singer Rowan Godel will play chainmaker Bird. Godel is a rising star in the music world and has worked extensively with some of the biggest names in folk, including Oysterband (duetting with John Jones on Street of Dreams, Spirit of Dust and more ), The Levellers and Ray Cooper.

The company has collaborated with folk legend John Kirkpatrick to write original music which will take audiences through the true story of Macarthur and the chainmakers’ fight for justice.

Women chainmakers in the Black Country in the 1900s started work at the forge as children and spent their entire lives making chains. These women had no vote, were largely illiterate, worked a 54-hour week for ‘starvation wages’, and had to take their children to work.

But in the Autumn of 1910 hundreds of women chainmakers of Cradley Heath held a ten-week strike against their employers. Led by the remarkable trade union organiser and campaigner Mary Macarthur, they won a minimum wage which doubled their incomes.

More importantly, they returned to work confident in the knowledge that by sticking together in a union they could stand up to the chain masters and companies.

The strike was a prelude to the ‘Great Unrest’ of industrial action that swept Britain in 1911, and led to a landmark victory for a fair wage, changing the lives of thousands of workers, whilst proving their economic power.

‘Rouse, Ye Women!’ is a folk-song opera that tells the story of Mary Macarthur and the chainmakers, and shares the story of the lives of the workers and campaigners through rousing, heartfelt traditional song and music.

Bryony Purdue said: “I am delighted to be playing Mary Macarthur. She’s a strong woman, a Scot and an incredible person to read about - even more so with the approach being that of someone trying to glean what she was like in order to do her true character justice. This combined with singing in this original production and especially alongside Rowan will just be a real adventure. I couldn’t be more pleased and cannot wait to share a rehearsal room and stage with this wonderful story and group of such talented creative people.”

Rowan Godel said: “Mary MacArthur and the Chainmakers Strike of 1910 is one of many barely remembered stories about the working conditions and pay of women in the early 20^th century. Along with the generally poor pay and conditions of all workers, women chainmakers often earned less than half the amount of men doing the same work.

“I will be playing the part of “Bird” - one such chainmaker working in these appalling conditions. Through her story, I hope to convey something of the struggle faced by these women and their strength and courage in standing up to their exploitative employers, using the power of organised union strike action. The relationship between bosses and workers was changed forever by the collective action of these brave, strong women and their story provides us with a powerful socio-historical context for understanding issues of poverty, gender, discrimination and slavery today. Their voices need to be heard again and am hugely excited to be a part of this production.”

Director Louise Townsend said: “The focus of the production is not just the massive achievement of the women chainmakers in their fight for better wages, but also how Mary Macarthur and the National Federation of Women Workers, of which she was a founding member, sought to challenge the prevailing view that women made poor trade unionists, were a threat to male employment and wages, and were generally un-organisable.

“Mary Macarthur herself wanted trade unions to educate women workers to be better citizens, empower them to demand more from life and gain fair treatment as workers; to ensure that women can be an effective force within the trade union movement to strengthen the position of the entire industrial working class.

“Through this production we will aim to draw parallels with the inequalities in the lives of women just over a hundred years ago with modern issues of family life, low pay, the minimum wage, the gender pay gap and equality of opportunity.”