We’re Not Going Back (2024)
8 Mar - 25 Oct 2024
From the
Shows Archive
75 Mines. 3 Sisters. 1 Cause. (And a six-pack of Babycham)
2024 is the fortieth anniversary of the 1984/85 miners’ strike, a dispute that still resonates today. But the strike wasn’t just about pickets vs police – in this hard-hitting musical comedy there are no miners and no cops. Instead, we follow the fortunes of three sisters in a pit village, hit hard by the Government’s war against the miners and determined to set up a branch of ‘Women Against Pit Closures’.
Early 1984, and Olive, Mary and Isabel are sisters whose everyday squabbles collide with a strike that forces them to question their lives, their relationships and their family ties.
This strike wasn’t just a war fought on the battlegrounds of picket line, Parliament and public opinion. It was as much a battle in the homes and families of those fighting for their communities.
We’re Not Going Back tackles the resilience of working communities, the make-and-mend fabric of family and the power of sticking two fingers up to a government hell-bent on destruction… and all with humour, song and a six pack of Babycham.
ALL performances of We’re Not Going Back used Talking Birds’ The Difference Engine, meaning d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members could get captions direct to their own mobile devices. Not sure what that means? Have a read of this!
PLEASE NOTE: the videos on this page feature the original cast of 2014 who toured the show again in March and July 2024: Victoria Brazier, Beccy Owen, Stacey Sampson & Claire O’Connor.
Presented in partnership with Unite the Union
L-R Stacey Sampson (Mary), Victoria Brazier (Olive) and Claire O_Connor (Isabel) credit Lian Furness
L - R Daisy Ann Fletcher (Isabel), Rachel Gay (Olive) & Keeley Fitzgerald (Mary) credit Robling Photography
WNGB Coal Not Dole Victoria Brazier (Olive) credit LianFurness
L - R Daisy Ann Fletcher (Isabel), Keeley Fitzgerald (Mary) & Rachel Gay (Olive) credit Robling Photography
L - R Rachel Gay (Olive), Keeley Fitzgerald (Mary) & Daisy Ann Fletcher (Isabel) credit Robling Photography
L-R Victoria Brazier (Olive), Stacey Sampson (Mary) and Claire O_Connor (Isabel) credit Lian Furness
L-R Victoria Brazier (Olive), Claire O_Connor (Isabel) and Stacey Sampson (Mary) credit Lian Furness
L - R Rachel Gay (Olive), Keeley Fitzgerald (Mary) & Daisy Ann Fletcher (Isabel) credit Robling Photography
Like Talking, Only Loud L-R Victoria Brazier (Olive), Claire O_Connor (Isabel) and Stacey Sampson (Mary) credit Lian Furness.jpg
L-R Claire O_Connor (Isabel), Victoria Brazier (Olive) and Stacey Sampson (Mary) credit Lian Furness
L - R Keeley Fitzgerald (Mary), Rachel Gay (Olive) & Daisy Ann Fletcher (Isabel) credit Robling Photography
