A play about North East miners imprisoned for accidently derailing the Flying Scotsman during the 1926 General Strike, was staged in The Waterfront Hall in Belfast and The Playhouse in Derry. Both venues saw enthusiastic audiences and standing ovations.
The Cramlington Train Wreckers was written by North East playwright Ed Waugh who has spent more than 20 years writing plays about working-class life (Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry, Carrying David).
“It’s a story about working-class unity. Whether you’re from north east England, Belfast or Derry, they’re stories about solidarity told with a different accent.” said Ed.
Mr Waugh worked closely with Northern Ireland’s trade union movement to help stage the production. They received backing from several trade unions, including NIPSA, Unite, Unison, the Fire Brigades Union and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Ed praised working with NIPSA…
“I’ve been incredibly proud to work alongside NIPSA. Their commitment to bringing people together reflects exactly what this play is about. It shows that working people are united by their shared struggles.”
“That message of working people being united has certainly connected with audiences in Northern Ireland.”
A hit play about North East miners imprisoned for derailing the Flying Scotsman during the 1926 General Strike is transferring to Northern Ireland before it plays the prestigious Newcastle Theatre Royal.
Playwright Ed Waugh (Carrying David, Wor Bella) was invited to talk about the play at two Irish venues last week.
Firstly, how did you get there Ed?
‘I flew! It only takes 40 minutes from Newcastle to Belfast International Airport. My Metro journey from Newcastle Airport to South Shields took much longer!’
‘I spent a couple of nights in Derry but while in Belfast, and Derry, there was lots of talk about the race riots. Theatre shows were cancelled and the bars weren’t up to their usual capacity. I was told people are reticent about coming out of their homes to socialise publicly at the moment.’
pic.PlaywrightEd Waugh in The Waterfront Hall, Belfast.
How did the Ireland connection come about?
‘I was approached by Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA) who have a membership of 47,000 and are the biggest Northern Ireland-based trade union.
They were instrumental in getting additional trade union support from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ITUC), Unite, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and Unison. The latter have 50,000 members in Northern Ireland and are based across the UK.’
Along with the talks Ed was interviewed by BBC Radio Ulster in Belfast and BBC Radio Foyle in Derry.
‘I was amazed by the BBC presenters who interviewed me in Belfast (BBC Ulster) and Derry (BBC Foyle). They had obviously done their homework and their preparation was brilliant, they were good interviews. I was impressed.’
‘I was able to get the point across about the need for workers’ unity and the importance of trade unions in this, to cut across racial, religious and gender bigotry.’
‘These disgusting prejudices are whipped up by the representatives of the wealthiest 1 per cent to detract from the growing inequalities in society. It’s the traditional ‘divide and rule’ tactic to scapegoat minorities rather than the real culprits.’
pic. Playwright Ed Waugh outside Derry Playhouse.
How did you find Belfast and Derry?
‘Both Belfast and Derry are highly political cities. There are political murals everywhere and every family was affected by the troubles.’
‘Despite these historical injustices, Belfast is a brilliant place. I’ve been a number of times and it reminds me of Newcastle. People are very friendly and the place has a buzz.’
‘Mind you, Derry blew me away. What a fantastic place! I paid tribute to the Undertones mural before heading to the BBC to be interviewed but en route people would just say “hello” and smile. it was lovely.’
‘It was announced before the BBC Radio Foyle (Derry) interview that I was speaking and there to meet me at the station to say hello was a chap from Wallsend. He’d emigrated in 1973 but still had his Geordie accent.’
Would you call the visit successful Ed?
‘When I got the taxi home in the evening the taxi driver asked me what I was doing in Derry and when I told him he said he’d be at the front of the queue if there was another general strike.’
The Cramlington Train Wreckers is playing Derry Playhouse on July 8 and Waterford Hall, Belfast, on July 9, before transferring to Newcastle Theatre Royal on July 12. The two shows at Newcastle will be at 3pm and 7.30pm. There is limited ticket availability for both shows.
Alison Stanley, Katie Potts, Crissy Rock & Leah Bell.
A UK tour is planned for ‘Tits Up.’ The play is based on the real life story of women with breast cancer. It’s written by Alison Stanley and Leah Bell who also star in the show along with Crissy Rock and Katie Potts.
The show played at a sold out North East venue this year. You must be pleased with this Alison?
I’m really pleased with how everything is going. The audiences have been great and the reviews have been amazing. I think the subject matter (breast cancer) is relatable to so many people, in fact I really don’t know many people whose lives haven’t been touched by cancer in some way.
I think this play is really important in raising awareness, it looks at the lives of very different women. It looks at women who have caring responsibilities as well as dealing with their diagnosis. This puts an entirely different slant on dealing with cancer when you have to care for others as well.
We also wanted to look at breast cancer in very young women. Most people think breast cancer is an older person’s disease but the fact is young women can get this too. We hope that this play encourages young women to check themselves.
Are you looking forward to the tour and taking the show to new venues?
I’m really looking forward to touring. This tour goes all over the UK in October to coincide with breast cancer awareness month. I’m looking forward to new theatres and new audiences also playing some old favourites. There are some really beautiful theatres in the UK.
We’re also playing in the North East at Alnwick Playhouse, South Shields Customs House and Live Theatre in Newcastle, so it’s great to be showing out on home turf.
What type of audiences do you think the show will attract?
Cancer affects everyone so we have people who have their own cancer journeys, their families, health professionals and theatre goers who want to be entertained by a great story. All very different audiences of all types of people. The play is raw, honest, heartfelt and at times hilarious.
‘Tits Up’ starring Crissy Rock, Katie Potts, Leah Bell & Alison Stanley is playing across the UK in October 2026.
‘When I was young I watched a production of Blood Brothers and it just blew me away, I was so engrossed and moved – from that day I was hooked’.
Alex Tahnee from Newcastle has been acting since she was 11 year old…
‘I fell in love with theatre playing Young Catherine in Tom and Catherine, a musical about Catherine Cookson’s life at The Custom’s House, South Shields. I love the idea of telling stories and love the feeling of being on stage’.
‘Since then, I’ve worked with many brilliant people in the North East including various shows playing Alice in Alice in Wonderland at Northern Stage, playing a military wife in Magnolia Walls, and most recently playing a female Marc Antony in Julius Caesar, an absolute bucket list role’.
Next up for Alex is a play by South Shields writer Ed Waugh (Dirty Dusting, Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry, Carrying David). The Cramlington Train Wreckers is another forgotten story about the North East.
‘I play Erica, she’s a journalist interviewing Bill Muckle, one of the eight men imprisoned for derailing a train in the 1926 general strike. Bill has a fascinating tale to tell, and it resonates eerily with political issues we face today’.
‘Bill is played by the wonderful Micky Cochrane (I, Daniel Blake, Carrying David, Billy Elliot), and the piece is directed by Russell Floyd (The Bill, Eastenders, London’s West End), who also multiroles throughout as various characters in some glorious buffoonery’.
‘Bill tells the story of the general strike, how it came about, who was involved, the lies and propaganda that were spread and how it ended after only 9 days. Also, how it came to be that 8 young men from a mining town in Northumberland were imprisoned 100’s of miles away from their families and hailed as heroes upon their return’.
‘People are fascinating to me and theatre is like putting them under a microscope. Like Bill in this play, he was a real person who was so gregarious and engaging you can’t help but listen to him. There are incredible stories in every nook and cranny and theatre lets you explore them, what better job is out there?’
‘My hopes for this play is that this piece of local history is known by new generations for not only its regional importance but also how politics has a profound impact on individuals and communities across the world’.
‘I believe by using the first-hand account of one person in the past we can highlight the relevance of the same messages and themes still affecting us today’.
The Cramlington Train Wreckers opens on 7th November at Cramlington Learning Village and continues around the North East until 16th November 2024.
For tickets & full list of venues contact the official website >>>
New play by writer Ed Waugh (Dirty Dusting, Wor Bella) & directed by Russell Floyd (The Bill, Eastenders).
Royalties from over 20 professionally produced plays including Dirty Dusting,Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry, Carrying David and The Great Joe Wilson, plus financial support from Arts Council England allows playwright Ed Waugh to focus on what he loves best: working class history, in particular forgotten North East working class history.
South Shields-based Ed and the team behind this important work have unearthed another forgotten story about the North East.
“This is an incredible story, full of drama and tension, an almost forgotten story, despite the incident making headlines nationally and internationally.” explained Ed. The subject of the new play is The Cramlington Train Wreckers which premieres in November and tours the region.
To maintain their profits, coal owners told miners they had to take a 40 per cent cut in wages. Stanley Baldwin, Conservative prime minister in 1926, also said every other section of the working class had to take pay cuts ‘in the national interest’. A General Strike was called and Northumberland miners were ready to challenge the establishment.
Ed explained “The intention was to stop a blackleg coal train that the miners felt was undermining the strike. Unfortunately for the perpetrators, they accidentally derailed a passenger train, the carriages were part of the Flying Scotsman”.
“The upshot was eight Cramlington miners were sentenced to a total of 48 years’ imprisonment for their part in the derailment”.
Most of the 281 passengers were treated for shock and bruises with only one person slightly injured, fortunately there were no deaths.
“Although largely forgotten, the story is an important part of British history. With the centenary of the General Strike rapidly approaching I felt it was important to assess the events in an informed, dramatic and entertaining manner. Were they terrorists or workers defending their jobs and communities?”
A North East tour in November 2024 includes South Shields Westovian Theatre, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Alnwick Playhouse, Hexham Queen’s Hall, Cramlington Learning Village Theatre, The Glasshouse Gateshead, Playhouse Whitley Bay, Bishop Auckland Town Hall and Barnard Castle Witham.
The Cramlington Train Wreckers is supported by Arts Council England.
“A couple of years ago a young friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer, people think it’s older people who develop this disease, so I wanted to raise awareness of this”.
Alison Stanley
‘Hard’, ‘Life of Reilly’ and ‘You Need To Say Sorry’ writer & actor Alison Stanley has tackled diverse subjects such as autism, sex workers and domestic violence. Her new play ‘Tits Up’ examines the strength of maternal love and the choices women face.
“Last year I found a lump and experienced the process of going to the breast clinic. Fortunately, my lump wasn’t anything of concern but it did make me think”.
“Even though I was fine I began questioning my own mortality and spent nights wondering what would happen if I had cancer? What would’ve happened to my son who is autistic”.
Alison threw herself into an intensive period of research, she spoke to people who had lived through cancer and heard real stories including from the LGBTQ community who had another perspective.
“I went along to Live Well with Cancer in North Shields where the ladies were kind enough to share their stories with me”.
From here, Alison created a piece that looked at life choices for three different women with different lives united together in their fight against breast cancer.
Alison explains“Tina, Rachel and Rosie are unlikely friends. Tina is a devoted Mam, she can’t understand why ‘bonny bairn’ Rosie wants to put rings through her nose, and Rachel, who lives to work, can’t understand why Tina is content at home and why Rosie doesn’t iron her jeans”.
Alison added “The three characters are very different and would never have met if they hadn’t found themselves having treatment at an oncology ward.The play hasn’t been cast yet, but will be soon.”
Alison’s last play ‘You Need to Say Sorry’ received good reviews and is now used by Northumberland/North Tyneside social services as a training tool.
“I’m in discussions with Northumberland Police to do the same with them. A lot of police and social services staff came to see the play”.
Alison also finds time to be Director of Participation at the Whitley Bay venue, Laurels, where her new project is called ‘Pasty, Play & a Pint’. People buy a drink and a pasty and a ticket to see a reading of a script of produced plays and new writing.
“It’s an attempt to open up the theatre during the day and encourage older visitors” added Alison.
‘Tit’s Up’ runs from October 8-17 at Laurels, Whitley Bay. There are some matinee performances and tickets are on sale now via Laurels official website.
During the 1926 General Strike miners in Cramlington derailed a train of Flying Scotsman carriages pulled by the Merry Hampton engine.
The miners thought the train on the Edinburgh to London mainline was full of blacklegs undermining the strike, unfortunately for them it was a passenger train, no one was killed with only one person injured.
Was it workers defending their jobs and communities, or terrorists? Eight Northumberland miners were sentenced to 48 years for their involvement.
To explain the near 100 year old story an event is booked on Tuesday, October 24 @ 2pm & 7pm, Tyneside Irish Centre, Newcastle.
This will include an illustrated talk by playwright Ed Waugh (Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry, Carrying David), recitations and songs plus a showing of the brilliant 30-minute BBC film (1970) The Cramlington Train Wreckers which features interviews with the surviving four “train wreckers”. It is a historical document and anyone interested in Geordie social history should not miss this.
The joint production between Westoe Miners Banner Group and Wisecrack Productions aims to tell the incredible story of The Cramlington Train Wreckers.
ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST MUSIC & CULTURE 