The dynamic newcomers of Ensemble ’84, based in Horden, County Durham, have turned to a working class classic for their next production at The Playhouse, their church-turned-theatre.
Their production of The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists, by Robert Tressell, will open in Horden at the end of September.
They describe the book, which was first published posthumously in 1914, as “a story about work, poverty and standing together”.
Set in the early years of the 20th Century, it tells of a group of painters and decorators who scrape by making homes beautiful for wealthy people while struggling to heat their own homes and feed their families.
One of them, Frank Owen, starts to question why the people who actually create the wealth are the ones living in poverty.
He challenges his workmates to see the system in a new light but discovers, as many others have done since, that fear, insecurity and the need to earn a wage can be obstacles to solidarity.
“Funny, moving and sharply political, the production explores work, friendship and what it means to build a fairer society,” say Ensemble ’84 who burst onto the North East theatre scene – while attracting national attention – with their first production, Mother Courage, in 2025.
Mark Dornford-May, founding artistic director of Ensemble ’84, and acclaimed for his work internationally, aims to combine “powerful storytelling, movement and music” to bring the tale to a modern audience.
“The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists was written more than 100 years ago but it still speaks directly to the world we live in today,” he says.
“It asks who creates wealth, who benefits from it and why so many people who work the hardest continue to struggle.
“These are conversations that belong everywhere, but especially in communities with proud industrial histories like East Durham.”
This is the next step in what has been an action-packed year for Ensemble ’84 which recently relocated from Horden Methodist Church to the deconsecrated Roman Catholic Church in the village which it has transformed into an atmospheric theatre, The Playhouse.
Sir Ian McKellen, actor, film star and supporter of regional theatre, unveiled a plaque outside the building ahead of the company’s production of Hamlet, or as they billed it (this being the seldom performed First Quarto version) The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet.
Following that highly praised production, giving many cast and audience members their first taste of Shakespeare, there was a revival of Ensemble ’84’s popular locally inspired production, Pits, People and Players.
With The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists, they say, the company “continues its commitment to producing world-class theatre in East Durham while telling stories that resonate with the communities around it”.
Ensemble ’84 is one of the original partners of the flagship Into the Light programme, a creative and cultural partnership designed to drive long-lasting growth across County Durham.
Julia Handelman-Smith, director of Into the Light, said: “East Durham has always been shaped by hard work, solidarity and creativity.
“Ensemble ’84 is showing what happens when we invest in that spirit today: ambitious theatre, creative opportunities and a new sense of possibility rooted in Horden itself.
“At Into the Light, we believe that culture has a key role to play in how communities build confidence and create opportunities for local talent to shine.
“Ensemble ’84 is a brilliant example of culture-led regeneration in action, and The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists feels a particularly fitting story to tell.”
The book bears the name Robert Tressell but that was actually the pen name used by an Irish painter and sign writer called Robert Noonan who wrote in his spare time.
He died of tuberculosis in a Liverpool hospital in 1911, a year after he had completed the book and had it rejected by several publishers.
It was after his death that his daughter managed to get a publisher to accept the manuscript which was published, although in a heavily abridged form and with an ending of their own devising, in 1914.
Noonan’s original manuscript wasn’t published until 1955 and it has been widely admired as a classic of working class literature. George Orwell called it “a book that everyone should read”.
The novel is set in a fictional town called Mugsborough, said to be based on the author’s home town of Hastings although the location in the book is said to be well away from Hastings.
The themes, though, are universal and it would be surprising if the Ensemble ’84 production didn’t relate to Horden and the surrounding area.
We shall see.
Tickets for the show, which runs from September 30 and until October 10, are on sale now via the Ensemble ’84 website.