This is a true story of riots and recriminations, of rebellion, greed and revenge …
200 years ago people from Sutton, Kirkby, Hucknall, Linby, Papplewick, Annesley, Mansfield, Selston and all the surrounding villages stood up to the government of the day to demand a better life for themselves and their families. For several weeks the area was at the centre of national attention as politicians, poets, soldiers, framework knitters, newspaper proprietors and judges came face to face with each other in a confrontation that was to have consequences for ordinary people across the country.
Funded by the Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund this was a project where we had to work very hard to develop a community cast. We began by creating a piece of Luddite agit prop ‘The Knitters Complaint’, which we performed at a local festival, ran a writing competition and held many workshops across the town. In the end ‘The Hammer of Defiance’, staged at the Baptist Church in Kirkby in 2013, was one of our finest shows and was really well received. Blending film, choral singing, live music, and a gigantic Ned Ludd puppet, the drama that took place in, around and above the audience.
You can see a copy of the script (with more images) here.