"I know there's a lot of optimistic people saying we haven't lost, this is just the beginning of the next struggle {...} but if we haven’t lost it's not the kind of victory I wanted..."
WAPC activist - Trisha Sutcliffe, circa 1984/85...
Not the Kind of Victory I Wanted, takes its title from a monologue from Trisha Sutcliffe, which featured in a play: The Garden of England. 42 years on, Not The Kind Of Victory I Wanted, re-examines the 1984/85 Miner’s Strike and the wider decline of the coal industry in the UK, focusing on the women who stood alongside their men to keep their pits open and communities thriving. Drawing on oral histories, archival material and women’s testimony presented word-for-word, it centres women’s lived experience and the 1984/85 intergenerational impact through a mix of voices...
Unlike a traditional play, no two performances will be the same. At each performance, audiences select from a menu of oral histories from women who lived through the strike, choosing which narratives they want to see performed...
This approach allows each event to respond to the community in which it is staged, whilst giving audiences agency over the stories they wish to hear. For communities so often spoken about rather than listened to, Not The Kind Of Victory I Wanted places working-class voices at the centre of the performance experience....
Not The Kind Of Victory I Wanted is designed to tour to former coalfield communities that experienced the industrial decline of the UK mining industry. Recognising that many mining communities have limited access to theatre buildings, the production has been designed specifically for community venues, libraries, working men's clubs and other non-traditional performance spaces, ensuring the work can be shared where these histories were lived...
The piece will be toured from February 2027, and there are a number of dates where organisations can host the performance for FREE. If you think your organisation may be interested in hosting a performance, click the link below to download the tour pack which contains all the information you should need, and get in touch...