The remarkable true story of the Victorian scandal that sent shockwaves through Britain and changed women's lives forever
The Matchgirls musical play is based on actual events around the London Matchgirls strike of 1888 and focuses on working conditions at the Bryant & May factory in Bow, which had women and children suffering from ‘Phossy Jaw’ where the white phosphorus from matches would rot their jaws away. This was combined with sanctions and fines imposed by management if you were unable to work due to illness.
The match-cutters finally rebelled against their working conditions and this is their story. The incongruously named ‘Hope Court’ is the setting for much of the play, for it is there the workers live in shabby tenements. Desperation turns Kate, the tenement girl, into a reckless strike-leader, and complicates her courtship with Joe, a docker. Annie Besant, the liberal reformer, champions the strikers’ cause and plays a vital part in bringing about their ultimate victory over what was then a callous management.
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Part 1, 18th Jan 8pm
Part 2, 19th Jan 8pm
Parts 1+2 20th Jan 2.30pm
Part 1, 23rd Jan 8pm
Part 2, 24th Jan 8pm
Part 1, 25th Jan 8pm
Part 2, 26th Jan 8pm
Part 1, 27th Jan 2.30pm
Part 2, 27th Jan 8pm