WOR BELLA

‘CARRYING DAVID’ PLAYS NEWCASTLE THEATRE ROYAL

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Micky Cochrane and Glenn McCrory with Tim Healy, who was ringside on the night of the world title bout in 1989 when Glenn became world cruiserweight champion. (Copyright Ed Waugh)

“Carrying David is emotional and heart-breaking. It’s about the love of two brothers. This is pure theatre. You don’t have to like boxing to be emotionally involved in this wonderful story” said actor, Micky Cochrane.

Carrying David premiered in 2019 and played to full houses gaining the actor a standing ovation for his telling of an emotive and inspiring story.

Post-Covid, the play was staged in London and toured the north of Ireland to sell-out crowds, including the prestigious Lyric theatre in Belfast.

The play tells the incredible story of Glenn McCrory’s rise to becoming the first-ever world champion boxer from the North East. It also has the further twist that Glenn’s terminally ill brother David inspired him to become the best in the world.

The play was written by Ed Waugh who brought North East working class stories to the stage Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry and more recently The Cramlington Train Wreckers which toured the region with sold out performances.

Ed explained “This play is about two lads from Stanley. Glenn McCrory played by Micky Cochrane – aiming to become world boxing champion and his brother David McCrory – fighting every day to stay alive!”

David’s muscle-wasting disease meant Glenn often physically carried his brother on his back, hence the title of this fantastic story.

“David and I were very close,” said Glenn, a former Sky television pundit. “He was my inspiration. David would say, “If I can defy death, you can become a world champion! Saying those words still brings tears to my eyes. I think of David every day.”

David was not expected to live beyond 14 but evaded death until he was 29, living to see his beloved brother win the coveted world cruiserweight title in 1989.

The fight was held at Stanley Leisure Centre and broadcast live throughout the world. It is the remarkable story of an underdog defying all the odds – a North East story that people still talk about today.

Ed added “The performance by Micky is sublime. He won a standing ovation at every venue, the reviews are all five-star. Rocky was a great film…but this County Durham Rocky story is even better…and true!”

Carrying David will be performed at Newcastle Theatre Royal on Saturday and Sunday, June 21 & 22. Tickets (including concessions) are available from the Theatre Royal or via the Theatre Royal website  Carrying David | Newcastle Theatre Royal

Edit: Alikivi  May 2025

FORGOTTEN WW1 FEMALE FOOTBALL STAR MARY LYONS TO GET A HEADSTONE

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She died a forgotten hero in 1979, but WW1 women’s football superstar Mary Lyons is about to get the recognition she deserves when a headstone on her previously unmarked Jarrow grave is unveiled in April.

Mary was born in 1902 in Jarrow. In 1918 aged just 15 she became the youngest-ever England footballer and goal scorer when on her debut she scored in front of 20,000 people against Scotland at St James’ Park, Newcastle. It is a record that still stands today, and yet her achievements have been written out of history – until now!

Mary died in Primrose Hill hospital, Jarrow, in 1979, aged 76, and was laid to rest in an unmarked grave with three others. The Friends of Jarrow Cemetery have been at the forefront of getting recognition for the town’s forgotten football hero and, last year after discovering her final resting place, erected a 3ft wooden cross to mark the grave.

However, Mary features prominently in Wor Bella by South Tyneside-based playwright Ed Waugh (Dirty Dusting, Carrying David, Hadaway Harry). Bella Reay was played by North East actress Catherine Dryden.

Catherine Dryden (‘Wor Bella’) in Blyth football strip.

Due to the success of that play in the North East in 2022 and its hugely successful re-run in London and Newcastle Theatre Royal last year, the Friends of Jarrow Cemetery moved to get Mary a permanent headstone.

Jarrow amateur historian Stewart Hill, 73, and Tricia Vickers, 67, are members of the Friends and have led the way in getting recognition for Mary. Stewart explained “Mary was the youngest of eight siblings and she worked in Jarrow shipyard during WW1. She was a tremendous footballer by all accounts. She debuted for Jarrow Palmers when she was only 15 and quickly caught the eye. In May 1918, she was seconded to the mighty Blyth Spartans for the Munitionettes’ Cup final against Bolckow Vaughan of Middlesbrough”.

“Mary scored a goal in the 5-0 victory at Ayresome Park, in front of 22,000 spectators and was crowned ‘Player of the Match’. The following year Mary captained Jarrow Palmers to win the Munitionettes’ cup at St James’ Park, in front of 9,000 supporters.”

Stewart added “So by the age of 16, Mary had won two cup finals, scored in one, captained her team in the other and became the youngest-ever England player and goal scorer! What a brilliant achievement! Imagine what she would be like today, given the modern game and opportunities.”

Tricia, said “Our great friend George Le-Blond of Abbey Memorials in Jarrow has generously donated the beautiful marble headstone and genealogist Sam Nicol has been a great help trawling through hundreds of newspaper articles for information.”

She continued “Friends of Jarrow Cemetery work to keep the cemetery welcoming and clean, and make it safe for people and their loved ones. This is a tremendous development. Mary and the WW1 women footballers should be an inspiration to young women everywhere.”

Christine Knox (on the left) being presented in 2024 with her red England Legacy Cap by Lioness Lauren Hemp. The cap is numbered 36 to mark Christine’s legacy number – the 36th women to play for England. The presentation took place at St. George’s Park, the national football centre, in Staffordshire.

The unveiling will take place at Jarrow Cemetery on Sunday, April 27, at 11.30am, everyone is welcome to attend. A brass band will lead the procession to the grave and ex-England Lionesses Christine Knox and Aran Embleton will perform the unveiling ceremony.

Christine, who won ten England caps in the 1970s and 1980s, played for Wallsend Ladies, Whitley Bay Ladies and North Shields Ladies.

Aran, the first millennial Geordie Lioness, gained four England caps and played for Blyth Spartans, Sunderland Ladies and Doncaster Belles in her illustrious career.

Aran Embleton holding an England cap.

Aran said “I am proud to have been invited to recognise Mary who, like the incredible Bella Reay of Blyth Spartans and other women of their generation, played women’s football until it was criminally banned by the FA in 1921. Players like Christine and I, and the current Lionesses, stand on the shoulders of these brilliant working class women from more than 100 years ago.”

Following the unveiling at Jarrow Cemetery, there will be refreshments and a celebration of Mary’s footballing achievements at the Iona Club, Hebburn. Due to start at noon, speakers at the event will be Wor Bella co-producer Jane Harker, Aran and Christine and Wor Bella actress Catherine Dryden. The event is public and entry is free.

April 2025

HADAWAY HARRY – in conversation with actor Jamie Brown

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Jamie Brown.

The incredible true story of Harry Clasper is set to tour the North East in February. The one man play ‘Hadaway Harry’ stars Jamie Brown who won a NE Culture Awards Performing Artist of the year.

Harry Clasper was born in 1812 in Dunston, Gateshead, at two year old he moved to Jarrow where he fell in love with the water watching ships coming up the Tyne. Education was limited for Harry, he couldn’t read or write and signed his marriage certificate with a cross. He started work at Jarrow Pit but unfortunately that didn’t work out so his next stop was an apprenticeship at Browns Boatyard.

‘That’s where he got clued up about boats. Harry revolutionized boat racing and boat design, innovations that became part of boat racing then are still employed in boat building today’ explained Jamie.

‘By shaving the boat they made a gun barrel shape instead of a square bottom and pointed the front of the boat. That increased the speed rather than drag through the water, and they made a scooped shape oar’.

‘It was like the time during the 2012 London Olympics when cycling became really popular, they had lightweight helmets, handlebars were shaped to create more speed – huge innovations just like Harry Clasper done for boating in the 1800s’.

‘Rowing was the main sport then, people would sit on the bank of the river and watch the race. Bets would be placed and there would be sponsors – even in those days. There would be stories of men employed to drill holes in the boats of opponents or tempt the oarsmen with alcohol the night before. There was even a case of someone’s food being poisoned. One of the first cases of boat tampering was with the part of the boat called the scull. The term skulduggery comes from that’.

‘The writer Ed Waugh has a desire to shine a light on people or events that have gone under the radar. We’ve done plays about North East musicians and singers Ned Corvan, Joe Wilson and Wor Bella about a ladies football team plus at the end of last year was The Cramlington Train Wreckers’.

‘These extraordinary stories about the working class, are told so they go unforgotten. There is a thirst for these stories, people responded well to them with standing ovations and sold out shows’.

pic. by Local Historian, Steve Ellwood

The Hadaway Harry shows in 2015 and 2017 eventually got Harry Clasper some recognition as a blue plaque was fixed onto the base of the High Level Bridge in Newcastle. There is also a pub called the Harry Clasper in Whickham, Gateshead.

‘He came from a big family – he was one of 14 and had 12 children himself. His ancestors are still around today, they’ve been to the shows and are very proud of his achievements’.

‘But his story wasn’t straight forward, it’s not looking back with rose tinted spectacles as he suffered personal tragedy and professional disappointments, there was plenty of hardship and personal dilemma’.

Later in life Harry became a publican in Newcastle but sadly died in 1870.

‘Over 120,000 people lined the streets for his funeral the procession was only a few miles but took over 12 hours. His coffin was put on a boat and sailed down the Tyne to Whickham where he was buried’.

The North East has stories of talented people achieving great things – we talked about the footballer Paul Gascoigne, coincidentally also born in Dunston where Harry came from.

‘Before Association football the sport of the people was rowing and Harry Clasper has been likened to the David Beckham of the day. I think, as many people do, he should have a statue next to the river Tyne. His achievements were fantastic. Do you know he won the world championship 8 times in 12 years’.

‘It’s been a privilege telling his story, but sadly this will be my last time on stage doing the Hadaway Harry show. I’ve loved doing the show but in the second half of the play it is hard rowing and narrating the story as a one man show plus I’m 40 in February so it can be a bit exhausting’.

‘So, this is me hanging up my oars but the play will go on and maybe a younger actor will take on the role. This is why on the tour schedule after about three nights we have a day or two off where there is time for rest and recovery and then for the next show I’m ready to be able to give 100%’.

For information about tour dates and venues contact the official website >>>

http://www.hadawayharry.com

Thanks to Von Fox Promotions for the pix.

Alikivi   January 2025

WHO WERE THE CRAMLINGTON TRAIN WRECKERS?

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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.

For further details visit http://www.cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk

August 2024

WOR BELLA HITS LONDON – the incredible story of heroic North East women footballers during WW1.

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Catherine Dryden as ‘Wor Bella’.

Wor Bella, a tribute to the heroic North East women who played football during World War 1 is transferring to London. The play will be staged at the Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham, before coming back up North to the prestigious 1200-seat Newcastle Theatre Royal in April. The play features a to-camera cameo by former Newcastle United footballer Alan Shearer.

Wor Bella is named after the show’s lead character Bella Reay who played centre forward for Blyth Spartans Ladies and scored 33 goals in 30 matches. She was the “Alan Shearer of her day”.

Wor Bella will star Catherine Dryden, who is currently performing with Jimmy Nail at Newcastle’s Live Theatre. Catherine, who hails from Chester le Street, is a RADA graduate and has toured number one venues nationally with The Pitman Painters and The Play That Goes Wrong.

Catherine explained “The play is a tribute to the million-plus women who stepped into exhausting and dangerous industrial work when men were conscripted in 1916”.

“They were selfless people who not only saved the war effort but raised money to support injured soldiers, widows, orphans and other charities by playing football.”

She continued “Factory teams of munitionettes formed on Teesside, County Durham, Wearside, Tyneside and Northumberland to raise money for wartime charities. I’m delighted to be playing “Wor Bella.” 

It was an incredible time for women’s football, Blyth Spartans Ladies played Bolcklow Vaughan (Middlesbrough) in front of 18,000 people at the inaugural 1918 Munitionettes Cup final at St James’ Park, Newcastle, and later 22,000 at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough.

“Unfortunately, the FA scandalously banned women’s football in December 1921. It wasn’t unbanned until 1971!” added Catherine.

Written by Ed Waugh, (Dirty Dusting, Waiting For Gateaux and Alf Ramsay Knew My Grandfather – all co-written with Trevor Wood and the self-penned Hadaway Harry).

Ed added “We’ve had tremendous support for our talks from the likes of history societies, WI’s, U3As, libraries, football clubs and cultural groups. The response has been incredible.”

The play toured the North East in 2022 and received a number of reviews….
“A rollercoaster ride of laughter and euphoria to sadness and anger… mesmerising” said The Journal.
 

Kyle Crook, Blyth Phoenix Theatre Operational Manager, added “Rave reviews with both staff and customers. A must see!” and Katy Taylor, Artistic Director at Hexham Queen’s Hall Arts Centre “Brilliant…went down a storm with the audience”.

Any groups interested in hearing a talk are asked to contact Ed via the official website > http://www.worbella.co.uk

For Theatre Royal tickets google > ‘Theatre Royal Wor Bella’ for London tickets visit > www.worbella.co.uk

Alikivi   February 2024

A GEORDIE EVENING with Ray Laidlaw, Carol Malia & Ed Waugh

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Ray Laidlaw, Carol Malia & Ed Waugh.

Marden High school in North Shields will host an evening of stories told by three Geordie voices. Founding member of Lindisfarne, Ray Laidlaw, BBC local news reader Carol Malia and international playwright Ed Waugh. Each have a connection to Monkhouse Primary, North Shields, so it’s fitting that all proceeds from the event go to the school.

As well as finding international fame with Lindisfarne, North Shields lad Ray Laidlaw is producer of Geordie institutions Sunday for Sammy and Christmas in the Cathedral. Ray was recently part of the creative team that won a Royal Television Society Award for the brilliant BBC 4 documentary, The Alan Hull Story.

Born in Tynemouth, Carol was a former Marden High school pupil. A regular on our TV screens since 1997, Carol has lots of funny stories to tell, a real Geordie institution.

Ed Waugh has produced 21 professional plays including Dirty Dusting (co-written with Trevor Wood). In January it’ll be performed at Whitley Bay Playhouse and his self-penned play Wor Bella will grace London and Newcastle Theatre Royal in April. Ed also writes comedy sketches for Sunday for Sammy and Christmas at the Cathedral.

Ed Waugh said “In April 2022 my lovely daughter in law Rachelle died aged 34. The school has been brilliantly supportive of my two grandchildren who have attended Monkhouse Primary. It’s an excellent school which thrives on developing the children and giving them new experiences either via extra-curricular activities like football, gardening and archery to name just a few examples, or encouraging them in school time to be active in the arts. I just wanted to do something as a thank you. Both Ray and Carol immediately said yes, which was brilliant of them. It’ll be a great night.”

The event will be held on Wednesday, February 28, 2024 @ 7.30pm at Marden High School, Hartington Road, North Shields, NE30 3RZ.

Tickets are only £10 and available from >

Register on Eventbrite

Alikivi   November 2023