Shake The City – Jermyn Street Theatre
The 1970 unofficial strike by five thousand clothing factory workers in Leeds has been largely forgotten and tends to be ignored by historians and anyone outside the immediate area. At the time though, it had a massive impact in raising the issue of equal pay for equal work, eventually to be enshrined in law in the Equal Pay Act. Millie Gaston's Shake The City looks at the strike and its origins from the perspective of four of the factory workers, exploring the narrative through the lives of the women. Margaret (Rachael Halliwell) has been promoted from the factory floor to supervise the workers, and at times uncomfortable position as she finds herself straddling the worlds of the workers and the management. Lori (Stephanie Hutchinson) is full of desire to fight for equality, w...