Hindle Wakes

Synopsis

It is Wakes Week in the northern town of Hindle and Fanny Hawthorne, a lively, determined mill girl, has spent the weekend in Blackpool with her friend Mary Hollins. At least that's what she tells her parents. In fact she's been with Alan Jeffcote, the wealthy mill owner's son. When her parents find out they are determined that Alan should marry her, but Alan, his father, his fiancée and Fanny all have their own ideas on the matter. Guaranteed to put a knowing smile on your lips.

Our Review:

14 September 2012

Set in 1912, when the women’s suffrage movement was gaining momentum and notoriety, Hindle Wakes introduces a confident, independent heroine determined to have her own voice in a world of oppressive convention. This extraordinary piece at the Finborough Theatre leaves every 2012 audience member wishing they had half of Fanny Hawthorn’s wit and a quarter of her cojones.

After a dirty weekend away, weaver Fanny (Ellie Turner) and mill owner’s son Alan (Graham O’Mara) are caught out by their parents and presented with only one option: to do the decent thing and marry. Unsurprisingly Alan’s strong backbone is easily snapped by the threat of disinheritance, but Fanny proves to be made of sterner stuff.

Teenagers, evidently, have been truculent throughout the ages, and the excellent scenes between the culprits and their scandalised parents feel as modern as an episode of a favourite soap. Ellie Turner snaps out some fabulous lines as ...

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Latest User Review

Paul Casey - 14 September 2012:

I laughed all the way through the show...fabulous piece of writing, superbly acted and directed...A must see....

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