A CHARMING, witty and powerful Lancastrian play will light up the boards at the Oldham Coliseum this month.
Hindle Wakes, written in 1910 by Stanley Houghton, author of the hugely popular Hobson’s Choice, is considered a theatrical landmark and is brought to the borough by Oldham Coliseum Theatre and Octagon Theatre, Bolton.
It was one of the first plays to have a working-class female lead and explore sexual double standards and female emancipation.
Set during Wakes week in the fictional town of Hindle, the play follows mill worker Fanny Hawthorn as she returns home from an illicit weekend with the mill owner’s son, Alan Jeffcote.
After a dramatic turn of events exposes their affair, which had been kept secret from disapproving parents and Alan’s fiancée, Fanny finds herself fighting against archaic social standards that demand she marry Alan and become an ‘honest woman’.
Hindle Wakes caused great controversy following its first opening at the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester in 1912 and many newspaper correspondents questioned whether it set a bad example for young women.
Hindle Wakes runs at Oldham Coliseum Theatre from Thursday 16 April – Saturday 2 May. Tickets can be booked on 0161 624 2829 or at www.coliseum.org.uk
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY
This production, directed by David Thacker, has drawn glowing reviews from its run at the Octagon Theatre last month.
“A characteristically meticulous production” – The Guardian
“A perfect collaboration between two of our great cotton mill towns” – Manchester Theatre Awards
“Funny, compelling and extraordinarily authentic” – Manchester Evening News
“Skillful staging, simple design and strong performances make an Edwardian gem sparkle in the gaslight” – The Stage
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