Performances; Salford Arts Theatre (Salford), Nexus Arts Cafe (Manchester),

Calder Bookshop Theatre (London)

Director: Jimmy Fairhurst

In 1844 Friedrich Engels wrote The Condition of The Working class in England – his classic denunciation of the appalling circumstances of the working class in this country, much of it drawn from his first hand experience of Manchester and Salford.In 2012 a company of volunteers, most of whom had never met before, came together to look again at the condition of the working class in England today. Working from Engels’ book and their own experiences, they created a show of dramatic scenes,songs and performance poetry. 

The show is a brilliant example of people coming together with fire, passion and determination to make something happen; to bring about change.The representation of the working class in the mainstream media tends to be drawn from a tabloid fantasy of clichés and stereotypes and filtered through the prejudices of middle class elites far removed from the lives of the people they are depicting. In this production this unique company gives a stark, sometimes satirical, but always honest account of the condition of the working class today.

CONDITIONS OF THE WORKING CLASS (2012)

COUNTERFIRE

"A fantastic depiction of the conditions of the working class in modern day England."