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LOVE on the DOLE by Walter Greenwood and Ronald Gow

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LOVE on the DOLE by Walter Greenwood and Ronald Gow Press Information 1980-2010 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FINBOROUGH THEATRE Anniversary Autumn 2010 – September to November 2010 Jagged Fence in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre presents LOVE ON THE DOLE by Walter Greenwood and Ronald Gow. Directed by Beckie Mills. Designed by Olivia Altaras. Lighting by Aaron Porter. Costume Design by Fiona Albrow. Sound by Chris Barlow. Cast: Liz Bagley. Janie Booth. Ben Crowe. Emily Dobbs. Joe Evans. Colette Kelly. William Maxwell. Jack Monaghan. Sadie Pickering. Carl Prekopp. Matthew Randall. Fiona Whitelaw “The kids in the gutters, the dirt and the smoke and the foul ugliness of it all. It gets you, and it dopes you and it eats into your heart" – Walter Greenwood Raw, powerful and darkly comic, a rediscovery of the classic Love on the Dole by Walter Greenwood and Ronald Gow, opens on Tuesday, 7 September 2010 (Press Night: Thursday, 9 September 2010) for a limited four week season as part of the Finborough Theatre’s 30th anniversary year. 1930. Salford. The Great Depression has taken hold and mass unemployment threatens to devastate the residents of Hanky Park. With their father out of work, the burden of keeping the family together falls to Sally Hardcastle and her brother, Harry, as they desperately fight to break free from the shackles of poverty. Strikingly poignant and now more relevant than ever, Love on the Dole is both a cry of outrage and a celebration of love, hope and the strength of the human spirit. Love on the Dole was first performed at the Manchester Repertory Theatre in 1934 where one critic said it had been "conceived and written in blood.” It toured Britain with two separate companies, playing up to three performances a day, sometimes in cinemas in towns which had no theatre. A million people had seen it by the end of 1935. Runs in London, New York and Paris followed. It was filmed in 1941 (the British Board of Film Censors would not allow a film to be made during the 1930s as they regarded it too “dangerous") and was even adapted into a musical. It was voted one of the National Theatre’s One Hundred Plays of the Twentieth Century in 2000. Novelist and playwright Walter Greenwood (1903-1974) was born in Salford. After leaving school aged 13, Greenwood worked a variety of ill paid jobs in between stretches of living on the dole, channelling his experiences of deprivation, poverty and unemployment into his 1933 novel Love on the Dole which he wrote on scraps of paper as he tramped the streets looking for work. The novel was noted for its honesty and frankness in its depiction of urban poverty, reflecting the nation’s experiences of life during the Great Depression. Greenwood went on to write nine other novels including Only Mugs Work (1938), several plays including My Son My Son (1935), The Cure for Love (1951) and Saturday Night at The Crown (1953), many scripts for film and television and his autobiography There Was a Time (1967), later dramatised as Hanky Park (1970). Playwright Ronald Gow (1897-1993) was born in Stockport. His plays include Gallows Glorious (1933) and Ma’s Bit o’ Brass (1938), but is perhaps best known for his stage adaptations of novels including Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1946), Norah Lofts’ Jassy (1947), H.G. Wells’ Ann Veronica (1949), Vita Sackville-West’s The Edwardians (1959) and A Boston Story (1966), based on Henry James’ Watch and Ward. Gow was married to actress Dame Wendy Hiller after they met when she starred in the original production of Love on the Dole. Director Beckie Mills returns to the Finborough Theatre after directing the English premiere of Iain Finlay MacLeod’s 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED Telephone +44 (0)20 7244 7439 Fax +44 (0)20 7835 1853 e-mail [email protected] www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk Artistic Director Neil McPherson The Finborough Theatre is managed by The Steam Industry. Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee, no. 3448268. Registered Charity no. 1071304. Registered address: 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED. A member of the Independent Theatre Council. Press Information I Was a Beautiful Day in July 2009 which subsequently transferred to the Tron Theatre, Glasgow. She was Resident Assistant Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2008–2009, assisting Emma Rice on her critically acclaimed production of Don John (Kneehigh Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company) and Conall Morrison on The Taming of the Shrew (Stratford-upon-Avon, London, and National Tour). Her work as Director includes new writing project The Comedy of Errors Remixed (Royal Shakespeare Company Learning), Heath/Cliff, a clown piece inspired by King Lear (Royal Shakespeare Company Projects), site-specific productions of Cabaret, Alice in Wonderland , Fear and Misery in the Third Reich (Bristol Old Vic), Over the Edge (Bristol Zoo Gardens), The End of the World as We Know It (Lightship John Sebastian), Cahoots’ Macbeth (King’s Head Theatre), Write Here Write Now (Bristol Old Vic Studio), The Melancholy Hussar (King’s Head Theatre and Etcetera Theatre), and her own play, Practice (Royal Shakespeare Company Projects and Young Vic). Her work as Assistant Director includes Hedda Gabler (Theatre Royal Bath and National Tour) and Pride and Prejudice (Theatre Royal Bath). Other projects have included directing the world premiere of Alban, a new opera by John Mole and Tom Wigall performed in St Albans Cathedral which will be revived at the Church of Saint Alban the Martyr, Holborn in October 2010. Jagged Fence Productions was founded in 2006. The company have established a reputation for producing exciting, innovative and challenging theatre, underpinned by a philosophy to explore themes of social justice, class, politics and gender, and a dedication to affecting change through theatre. Their previous productions include T.W. Robertson’s Ours at the Finborough Theatre, Stars in the Morning Skies (Riverside Studios), Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down (Arcola Theatre) and The Hostage (Southwark Playhouse). The cast includes Liz Bagley, Janie Booth, Ben Crowe, Emily Dobbs, William Maxwell, Jack Monaghan, Sadie Pickering and Carl Prekopp. Liz Bagley’s credits include Dinner Ladies (National Tour), The Comedy of Errors and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Cambridge Festival Theatre), The Borrowers (Manchester Library Theatre) and Daisy Pulls It Off (Globe Theatre). Television credits include Storm Damage and Chalk; Janie Booth’s credits include Captain Oates’ Left Sock (Finborough Theatre), The Pope’s Wedding (Royal Court Theatre), Private Lives (Hampstead Theatre), Kennedy’s Children (Sheffield Crucible Theatre) and television credits include Doctors and Torchwood; Ben Crowe’s credits include Single Spies (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and television credits include Down to Earth, The Office and Money, Money, Money; Emily Dobbs’ recent credits include The Hostage (Southwark Playhouse), Stars in the Morning Sky (Riverside Studios), Fall of Humanity (Gate Theatre) and television credits include Primeval and The Bill; William Maxwell's credits include The Northerners, Sons of York and A Day by the Sea (all Finborough Theatre), Maybe Tomorrow (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester), Nicholas Nickleby, Twelfth Night, The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs, Julius Caesar and Baal (all Royal Shakespeare Company) and Comedians (The Old Vic). Television credits include EastEnders, Coronation Street, Z Cars and Brookside; Sadie Pickering whose television credits include Waterloo Road, Doctors and Heartbeat; Carl Prekopp’s credits include Calendar Girls (Chichester Festival Theatre), Richard III (Riverside Studios), The Ruffian on the Stairs (Orange Tree Theatre) and television credits including Holby Blue and The Bill. The Press on Jagged Fence’s previous productions On Ours by T.W. Robertson at the Finborough Theatre in 2007 Time Out Critics’ Choice **** Four Stars, Time Out “A thoroughly entertaining, gripping play…A really, really enjoyable evening…A thumping, great social theme” Mark Ravenhill, Radio 3 'Night Waves' “An absorbing revival.” Lucie Sutherland, Times Literary Supplement “Highly enjoyable…Like most mid-Victorian dramatists, Robertson is a neglected figure today. Judging by Ours, that's a pity…Brilliantly executed.” Robert Shore, Time Out On The Hostage at the Southwark Playhouse in 2010 **** Four Stars, The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent “Sprawling, swaggering, chaotic and noisy, Brendan Behan’s 1958 play roisters and roars like a drunk on a bender…A production that teems with anarchic life and locates the emotional truths in caricature and shameless sentimentality…A true ensemble piece, and there’s not a weak spot in sight…It hurtles along, bursting with blarney, comic patter and pungent detail. Big-hearted, blunt and deliciously unruly.” Sam Marlowe, The Times “Highly recommended.” Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph “There is much to enjoy in Adam Penford's production, which has several stirring performances.” Rhonda Koenig, The Independent On Stars in the Morning Skies at Riverside Studios in 2008 Time Out Critics' Choice ***** Five Stars, Time Out 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED Telephone +44 (0)20 7244 7439 Fax +44 (0)20 7835 1853 e-mail [email protected] www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk Artistic Director Neil McPherson The Finborough Theatre is managed by The Steam Industry. Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee, no. 3448268. Registered Charity no. 1071304. Registered address: 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED. A member of the Independent Theatre Council. Press Information “Devastating intensity….a deeply affecting night of theatre, made more so by the timeliness of this revival.” Lucy Powell, Time Out PRESS NIGHT: THURSDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 AT 7.30PM PHOTOCALL: TUESDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2010 AT 1.00PM-1.30PM Finborough Theatre, The Finborough, 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED Box Office 0844 847 1652. www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk Tuesday, 7 September – Saturday, 2 October 2010 Tuesday to Saturday Evenings at 7.30pm.
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