In a year that has seen women across the UK fighting for better pay and conditions, Chopped Liver & Unions takes us back to the 1920s and the struggles of a female trade union pioneer.
Jewish Ukranian refugee Sara Wesker was a trade unionist, activist and radical who battled for change – and won.
Largely forgotten, her name and story deserve to be remembered, not least because the struggle is far from won.
Lottie Walker plays Sara in Chopped Liver & Unions, by J.J. Leppink, at theSpace on the Mile until 26 August as part of the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The one-woman play gives a vivid account of her life and the long struggle to improve the working conditions of female garment workers in London’s East End.
It has been praised by Theatre Weekly with a ★★★★ review that says: “Give thanks for grass root, small theatre companies like ‘Out of the Fire’ who fight to bring new writing to the Fringe and open up our hidden, working class history.”
With no income or savings the women she led in the 12-week strike of 1928 became known as the Singing Strikers – singing on the picket lines in return for coins from well-wishers.
She later went on to fight in the 1936 Battle of Cable Street when East Enders united to prevent Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, who were under police protection, from marching on their communities.
Lottie, herself an Eastender and the child of trade unionists, says: “This is a woman we should all know about. She sacrificed everything for the cause. And these are people, times and places that deserve to be remembered. The East End of London has burned with the fires of rebellion for centuries.
“From the Matchgirls in 1888 to the Made in Dagenham workers at Ford’s in 1968, its women have fought for change. Sara was one of the outstanding champions of the struggle for women’s rights – a struggle that has still has not been won. Indeed, we are currently witnessing the plight of refugees from the very country Sara came from, war in Europe, and civil unrest and industrial action worldwide. Nothing is new.”
During the show Lottie perform songs handed down from the Singing Strikers.
Lottie believe the struggles that Sara experienced and the causes in which she believed remain relevant today.
She said: “Sara Wesker came to the UK, aged five as a refugee from Ukraine in the early 20th century. As most immigrants did, she ended up in one of the large port cities of the country. In Sara’s case, the East End of London. She worked in the garment trade and took it upon herself to fight to improve the terrible working conditions.
“We’ve come a long way since then but we’re still a far from true equality in the workplace.”
Lottie and J.J. Leppink are not the first to believe that Sara’s story should be widely known. Her nephew, the celebrated playwright Arnold Wesker, wrote a fictionalised version of her into Chicken Soup with Barley.Chopped Liver & Unions’ creative team include director Laura Killeen, MD James Hall and designer Zoe Harvey-Lee who collaborated on the well-received Marie Lloyd Stole My Life.
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Notes for editors
Listings Details
- Venue: theSpace on the Mile – Space 2 (Venue 39)
- Time: 15:10 4-12 August and 13:10 for the rest of the run
- Dates: August 7-12, 14-19, 21-26. Previews 4&5 August
- Duration: 45 min
- Ticket prices: £6 to £8 preview. Full price £10, concessions £8
- Advisory: Age 12+ guideline
- Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com
Cast and creatives
- Company: Out of the Fire
- Performer: Lottie Walker
- Director: Laura Killeen
- Writer: J.J. Leppink
- Costume design: Zoe Harvey-Lee
- Set: Fiona Auty
About Out of the Fire
Out of the Fire is the newly formed, NFP sister company to Blue Fire Theatre Co. It aims to bring to life the stories of people forgotten by history – and where possible, to bring them to life in their own communities. The company believes that education and entertainment are not mutually exclusive.
Instagram, Twitter: @bluefire_tc
Facebook: bluefiretheatre
Website: www.linktr.ee/outofthefiretheatre
For media information contact Matthew Shelley at SFPR on 07786 704299 or at [email protected].