Join Rotherham TUC to celebrate women’s strike in new play Rouse, Ye Women!

Rotherham TUC are presenting a new play about a famous strike by women more than 100 years ago.
By julia.armstrong1
Published 3rd Apr 2019, 13:20 BST
Updated 5th Apr 2019, 13:19 BST
Rowan Godel and Bryony Purdue in Rouse, Ye Women!, a play about a successful strike by women chain makersRowan Godel and Bryony Purdue in Rouse, Ye Women!, a play about a successful strike by women chain makers
Rowan Godel and Bryony Purdue in Rouse, Ye Women!, a play about a successful strike by women chain makers

Rouse, Ye Women! tells the story of Mary MacArthur and the women chainmakers' strike in a new play by Townsend Productions.

Through rousing traditional songs and moving ballads, the show reveals the story of the women chainmakers of Cradley Heath in the West Midlands.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The 1910 10-week strike focused the world’s attention on the plight of Britain’s low-paid women workers involved in the ‘home-working sweated industries’. They hammered out chain links in sheds in their backyards with their babies and children for 5 shillings (25p) for a 50-hour week.

The strike, led by union campaigner Mary Macarthur, more than doubled their earnings and established the principle of a national minimum wage.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Rouse, Ye Women! is at Rotherham Underground, Corporation Street, on Wednesday, April 10 at 7pm.

Tickets are £10, £8 concessions. To book in advance, email [email protected] or pay on the door.