The title might be a bit misleading as we are not joining the likes of Royal Mail and going on strike ourselves but we will mark the 25th anniversary of the Great Miners’ Strike when David revives his acclaimed production
The Enemies Within by Ron Rose (
Mon 14 December - Sat 19 December).
The play was created in 1985 using real-life accounts of striking miners and their families following interviews conducted by writer Ron Rose, David and the cast. The play uses their exact words to tell the real stories that members of this Yorkshire mining community felt compelled to tell.
The Enemies Within is a co-production between the Octagon and London-based Azure Theatre Productions. It will be the first Octagon-produced production to be staged in the theatre’s newly renovated Studio theatre. The show will go on to be performed at
The Crucible in Sheffield – in the heart of the country most affected by the strike.
David recently directed a highly regarded BBC film,
Faith, set in the 1984/5 strike. He is very excited about to be once again investigating this significant period in British history. He told me:
“I’m thrilled that, thanks to the generosity of Azure Theatre Productions, we are able to re-present The Enemies Within. With the distance of 25 years, The Enemies Within is a deeply moving and compelling retrospective look at the most important industrial relations dispute since the 1926 General Strike.”Most of the original cast of Thacker’s groundbreaking production return to present this story, and it includes two actors who have recently performed here at the Octagon. Margot Leicester appeared in
All My Sons and Ghosts, while Barbara Marten played Sylvia Gellburg in
Broken Glass. They are joined by Howard Crossley, David MacCreedy, Barbara Peirson, Martin Riley, Stephen Tiller, Dyfed Thomas and Annie Tyson.
Ron Rose has written more than 60 plays performed by many of the country’s leading theatres. His extensive television credits include
The Bill,
Heartbeat,
Between the Lines and the critically acclaimed
Love and Reason.
After much giddiness having seen the set and hearing the harmonious singing of carols around the building, plus decking the halls and the tree the anticpiation for Oliver Twist is palpable. Well, it is at my desk anyway. This has been compounded by the fact we open tonight, hence the dress was this afternoon and thusly, no production photos until...well right about now! For your delectation and prior to the show actually opening you get to see a couple of the photos before even our first night audiences.... you lucky people!
