We're Not Going Back

Tour synopsis, cast & creatives

We're Not Going Back is about the 1984/85 miners' strike. More or less. But in this hard-hitting musical comedy there are no miners. Instead, we follow the fortunes of three sisters - Olive, Mary and Isabel - hit hard by the Government's war against the miners and determined to set up a branch of Women Against Pit Closures. It's February1984, and as the rumour mill stirs with developments of impending pit closures, the coal miners' unions are drawn into a battle of attrition against an unbending government. Forced into poverty, miners and their families become part of a strike that will resonate through the coming decades. But for many people, the war fought between politicians, police and pickets took a back seat to the fight to hold together families, friendships and community - fought on the battleground of living room and soup kitchen, meeting hall and social club. It was a battle fought with laughter and songs, with knees-ups, punch-ups and piss-ups. With music, comedy and grit, the three sisters embrace the values of the '84 strike and underline the empowerment; determination and vulnerability those communities were faced with in this war.

Creatives/Company

Author: Boff Whalley
Company: Red Ladder Theatre Company
Director: Rod Dixon