STRIKE!
by Tracy Ryan
Director Kirsty Patrick Ward
Designer Libby Watson | Lighting Designer Jamie Platt | Sound Designer Dominic Brennan
Dunnes Stores, Dublin, July 1984
As a South African grapefruit rolls towards the shop till, it will start something that will take nearly three years to finish……
It’s a hot, hot summer and Frankie Goes to Hollywood are riding high in the charts. At Dunnes Store, shop assistant Mary Manning refuses to ring up a grapefruit, sticking to her union instructions not to handle South African goods, in protest of the country’s apartheid policies. Mary is immediately suspended and it’s not long before she and eight other young women and one young man, all workers at Dunnes, are out on strike. It’ll only last a few weeks……
Kirsty Patrick Ward directs Tracy Ryan’s extraordinary account of the Dunnes Stores Anti-Apartheid Strike which took place in Dublin from 1984 to 1987. This action would play a pivotal role in world history with Ireland becoming the first Western European state to ban South African imports and ultimately leading to the fall of the apartheid regime.
Full of passion and humour, Strike! is the true story of the hardships and personal sacrifices, the friendships and camaraderie these extraordinary young shop workers experienced as they stood up for what they believed in. As their understanding of the suffering under apartheid in South Africa and the politics within their own Government deepened, they began a journey that would change their lives, and Ireland, forever.
PERFORMANCE DATES:
THU 13 April - SAT 6 May 2023 - SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE BOROUGH
CLICK to download a copy of the programme.
CAST
Alma Sheila Moylette
Cathryn Ciara Andrea Murphy
Karen Jessica Regan
Liz Anne O'Riordan
Mary Chloe O' Reilly
Michelle Orla Scally
Sandra Aoife Boyle
Theresa Charlotte Duffy
Tommy Adam Isla O’Brien
Vonnie Doireann May White
Nimrod Sejake Mensah Bediako
Paul/Brendan Archbold Paul Carroll
Sinead/Vonnie’s Ma Ciana Howlin
PRODUCTION
Writer Tracy Ryan
Director Kirsty Patrick Ward
Designer Libby Watson
Lighting Designer Jamie Platt
Sound Designer Dominic Brennan
Movement Director Ira Mandela Siobhan
Assistant Director Sofia Zaragoza
Assistant Designer Raphaella Philcox
Production Manager Adam Burns
Stage Manager Harry Adu Faulkner
Assistant Stage Manager Chloe Brown
Costume Supervisor Caroline Hannam
Wardrobe Isabel Ribbeck
Lighting Programmer Ciara Moss
Set construction Mark Bamfitt, Basement 94
Carpenter Sam Stuart
Crew Aoife Lilly, Charlie Speck, Dan Heywood, Gua Astudottir,
Harry Harrison, Mitch Broomhead, Oisin Feely, Ruth Harvey, Tom Arnold.
Press & PR Clióna Roberts
Marketing Sam Mcauley
Production Photos Mark Douet
Opening Night photos and video Michael David McKernan
Publicity Design Sean Longmore
Photo Credit for publicity design rollingnews.ie
REVIEWS
Everything Theatre
The Spy in the Stalls
The Times
The Reviews Hub
LondonTheatre1
The Upcoming
The Guardian
The Stage
British Theatre Guide
Southwark News
ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS:
The Guilty Feminist
Podcast with strikers Karen Gearon, Liz Deasy, Mary Manning and writer Tracy Ryan.
Everything Theatre
Interview with writer Tracy Ryan
Theatre Weekly
Interview with director Kirsty Patrick Ward
Audience Reaction
★★★★★ Everything Theatre
★★★★★ The Spy in the Stalls
★★★★ The Times
★★★★ The Reviews Hub
★★★★ LondonTheatre1
★★★★ The Upcoming
“The director Kirsty Patrick Ward has created a taut, quick-witted production, illuminating the group dynamics with the choreographed discipline of a musical. This is ultimately about an astonishing collective achievement… and it’s carried out here with style and aplomb.”
“What is most striking about Strike! is the sophistication of Kirsty Patrick Ward’s direction, with scenes interspersed with narration and 1980s pop hits (Madonna, Annie Lennox, Band Aid) as well as Ira Mandela Siobhan’s choreography. A charming show, telling a remarkable story.”
“Powerful and poignant, the ending brings tears to some of the audience and some of the cast. Strike!stands as tribute to those valiant strikers, the power of strike action and the pride and joy of solidarity. This is an absolutely memorable and unmissable night at the theatre, and even telling friends about it the next day, I found the tears threatening a comeback.”
“There are more laughs than might be expected balanced with a poignancy that brought some of this audience close to tears. The tale is well-presented, brilliantly performed, and, at the same time, both genuinely moving and entertaining.”
“A lively production, noisy, funny and bright. The 100 minutes rush by, and you can’t help but be moved by a story where ordinary people change the course of history.”
“The play has a lot going for it – quite admirably, it gives a fair and balanced view of events, without an iota of preachiness. It’s a well-drilled show, with movements so carefully choreographed this might as well have been a musical… slick and speedy, and the narrative progresses at pace – an engaging and encouraging performance.”
“A slick picture of protest and solidarity. Under the attentive direction of Kirsty Patrick Ward, the largely young company of 13 cracking actors all deserve a place onstage. The company comes alive in bold, synchronised movement by Ira Mandela Siobhan, everything well-oiled and delivered with angsty vigour as they march, chant and morph into the bodies of their Irish mothers. Together, they are a thunderbolt of a chorus.”
Production Photos: Mark Douet
FUNDERS
This production has been made possible thanks to:
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
London Community Foundation
Cockayne - Grants for the Arts
Arts Council England
GFTU Educational Trust
TSSA
Society for the Study of Labour History
Unison North West Region
Thanks to the following for their donations:
Ian McKellen (Producer Grant) and Richard O’Brien
Alan Atkins, Alan Haughton, Alison Steadman, Alison Utting, Andrea Ortiz, Andrew Murphy, Angela Sutherland, Anne-Marie Duff, Bairbre McKendrick, Bethan Dean, Bob Newland, Brian Cox, Brid Burke, Catherine Whittaker, C Finnerty, Cecelia Morgan, Charles Glanville, Charlie Kinsella, Charlie Kiss, Chris O’Dowd, Christopher Rogers, Ciara Phelan, Ciarán Hinds, Colm O'Brien, Daniel Johnson, Danielle Laurence, David Gibney, David Harris, David and Jenny Hendon, Debra Field, Derek Jacobi, Des Fleming, Edward Sweatman, Eleanor Kaufman, Eleonora Rossotto, Emma Thompson, Fiona Harrington, Francis Matthews, Gabriel Byrne, Gabriel Vick, Gary Donaldson, Gerald Lydon, Grace Collender, Helen Ryan, Ian Hart, Jacqueline Hilary, Ide Corley, J Hedley, James McCarthy, Jane Donovan, Jeremy Todd, Joan Francis-Odutola, Joanna Lumley, Joanne Simmonds, Jo Brand, Johanna Pfaelzer, John Causebrook and Anthony Field Associates, John Riches, Jonathan Pryce, Josh O'Connor, Joyce Mahon, Juan Carlos Vieira De Gouveia, Judi Dench, Julian Ward, Karrim Jalali, Katy Smyth, Kelley Dolan, Kelly Fagan Robinson, Kerena Fussell, Lela Kogbara, Lesley Hutber, Liam Neeson, Lily Wallis, Linda Marslin, Louise Creber, Marcus Hammond, Margaret Ling, Margaret Ward, Mark Hopkinson, Matthew Rice, Matt Lucas, Melanie Hurst, Michael Flesch, Michael Sanders, Michele Winstanley, Paul Murphy, Peter Power-Hynes, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Richard and Billy Heath, Richard Manuel, Richard Muir, Rita and Ralph Sands, Robert Lugg, Rosemary Jones, Ross Myddelton, Saleem Fazal, Sally Grey, Sarah Atherton, Sarah Davies, Sarah Mead, Sheilah Muir, Simon Sapper, Sinead Howlin, Siobhan McMahon, Sonia Sudhakar, Spencer Simmons, Stephen Johnson, Stephen Rowlatt, Susan Clarke, Sylvester McCoy, Theresa Tully, Thomas Mason, Tim Kitching, Tom Stoppard, Tony Manning, Tracie Tull-Peirce, Tracy O'Flaherty, Triona Desmond, Tudor Toma.