The Bard stands with the Reformers of Peterloo, and their shared genius in teaching history with music and song
There is a Light That Never Goes Out: Scenes from the Luddite Rebellion
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
★★★★★
Apparently we are in the midst of the second industrial revolution. If last week’s report into Manchester’s booming textile trade is accurate, then Yeatman and Mooney’s fabulous play is very timely.
The report highlighted a booming sweatshop industry where workers are forced into long hours, paid well below the minimum wage and non-existent health and safety.
Jump back 200 years to a similar picture faced by weavers with the introduction of automated looms.
Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY
PAUL FOLEY welcomes a dramatic account of the men and women involved in the pivotal moment of the 5th Pan African Congress
PAUL FOLEY picks out an excellent example of theatre devised to start conversations about identity, class and belonging



