First of all, a confession: despite this being a ‘radical classic’, and a volume George Orwell suggested should be on everyone’s reading list, it has always – shame on me - eluded mine.
Even if that also applies to you, it’s likely you’ll have an idea of the theme of Robert Tressell’s celebrated, early 20th Century work, which highlights the inbuilt inequity of the capitalist system and the debilitating effect on those looking for a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.
It centres on a group of painters and decorators, toiling for an ever-decreasing wage on the restoration of a country mansion the workers call ‘The Cave’. They don’t expect their lot to improve, because that’s not for the likes of them – hence the ironic ‘philanthropists’ tag in the title, as they labour to put money in the pocket of their masters.
They might grumble about low pay and tough conditions but are either unwilling or afraid to do anything about it. All apart from Frank Owen, played here in Stephen Lowe’s adaptation with wonderful energy and conviction by Joseph Hammal.
Frank’s talents as an artist elevate him above his co-workers, who are encouraged to merely slap on the paint as quickly as possible in an attempt to maximise profits by finishing the job ahead of time. His conviction that they are being exploited is the central, recurring theme.
Tressell’s work is more than a hundred years old but many of the issues he raises are still relevant, and references to ‘foreigners’ stealing jobs and the possibility of Frank ‘working from home’ on his special project (cue for a chuckle from his bemused boss) are a nod towards the current day.
It seems entirely fitting that a work like this is being tackled by Ensemble ‘84, a company “built around a simple proposition – that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not.”
That it’s taking place in Horden, a village which – like so many former County Durham coal mining communities – appears to have been left to rot since the loss of its pit, is also apt, and something of a minor miracle. New theatres don’t usually spring up in places like this.
There’s music (the whole piece opened by a beautiful rendition of Danny Boy by Willow Pearson’s Bert), dancing (most notably on a table-top by Brodie Johnson’s Harlow, one of Frank’s few converts), clever use of a sparse set (lots of trestles and a few planks) and actual painting (I’m guessing the colour scheme changes with every performance?).
The impressive 11-strong cast, directed by Mark Dornford-May, put heart and soul into an uninterrupted 90-minute show which is not so much a narrative as a treatise on the harshness of working life.
It concludes with an insistence from the author that: “I have invented nothing”. Makes you think. And also makes you want to get around to reading the original.
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists runs at The Playhouse, Horden, until Saturday, October 10. Book tickets from the Ensemble ’84 website.