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Exuberant anti-fascist musical
LYNNE WALSH applauds an exceptional piece of theatre that pits the BUF against the heroes of Cable Street
The cast of Cable Street, the musical [Jane Hobson]

Cable Street, a new musical
Southwark Playhouse

 

THIS retelling of an iconic story manages to be exuberant and inspirational, while delivering a chilling reminder of the easy rise of the far right.

The Battle of Cable Street defined an era; as Franco, Mussolini and Hitler savaged democracy, Britain’s own tin-pot dictator, Oswald Mosley, targeted the East End. Some 5,000 zealots from the British Union of Fascists (BUF), with a buffer zone of 6,000 police, would be confronted by 300,000 anti-fascists.

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