A new production of Walter Greenwood’s classic Salford-set novel, Love on the Dole, has literally taken to the streets of Salford this week.
Salford Community Theatre actors re-enact key scenes from the book by visiting areas mentioned in the book, climaxing in a fight as demonstrators clash with mounted police in Bexley Square as they so famously did 85 years ago.
In October 1931 thousands of unemployed people clashed with riot police on horseback as they protested welfare cuts which were plunging families into despair.
They were met by a large contingent of policemen who battered and arrested low-wage campaigners – resulting in a huge uprising which has gone down in history as The Battle of Bexley Square.
The sold-out play is on at nearby Islington Mill until Saturday 9 July with outside scenes added for gritty realism.
Performers were spotted today waving red flags outside the Lancashire Fusiliers Memorial on Chapel Street before marching to Bexley Square which caused heads to turn at this sight of ‘civil unrest’.
The novel has been adapted by Sarah Weston is a new adaptation written for a community cast, this production has brought together over twenty local people to create this promenade performance.
Sadly all tickets for the show have already gone, however feel free to join in on the action on Chapel Street and Bexley Square between today and Saturday, just try not to meet the fate of poor Larry Meath.
Main image by Derek Antobus
