'We should celebrate local stories in theatres'

A play about a group of female pottery workers who held a peaceful protest to protect their factory traditions against strict managers, is to make its stage debut.

Gladstone Girls, which is based on a true story, will premiere at the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, next February.

The production, written by local Oscar winner Rachel Shenton, will explore the lives of a group of pottery workers in the 1970s, who go on strike when their manager bans their weekly tradition of "Curl Friday".

Shenton said the story, which she had also turned into a podcast, was about "community and togetherness".

"Gladstone Girls is a heartwarming period drama set in the 70s Stoke-on-Trent in the lithography room at Gladstone Pottery Museum," the actress said.

"It's about a group of fiery pottery workers who go out of their way to protect a tradition that's become important to them, and it's called Curl Friday."

The tradition involved lithographers at the factory transforming their work room into a hair salon every Friday, as they prepared for their weekly night out at the local nightclub.

But when the floor manager tries to put a stop to their beloved routine, the group held a peaceful protest "that spreads far beyond the factory walls".

Shenton, who was born in Stoke-on-Trent, said she was "absolutely thrilled" by the play and the New Vic "couldn't be a more perfect home".

"Aside from it being in Stoke and that being perfect, as a theatre it's just beautiful and I can't wait for it to be on there," she told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It's makes me sort of excited and nervous."

Rehearsals for the production start in January, before a run of shows begin on 6 February.

Shenton, who received an Academy award in 2018 for The Silent Child, a short film which dealt with issues surrounding deafness, said it was "incredibly important" to tell local stories that maybe wouldn't ordinarily get that spotlight.

"I love bringing stories to life, I love being involved in a project literally from conception when you just have the idea and then writing it and then watching it have its life... and take on another form," she said.

"To be part of that, feels like a responsibility to get it right really," she explained.

"We should be celebrating local stories in local theatres, I think that's what they're there for."

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