Holding Fire!

Synopsis

England 1837: a country on the cusp of revolution. A young girl is propelled on a journey from a London slum to the servants’ quarters of a great house, and from first love to murder. In her flight from authority she come across the Chartist William Lovett, a man striving to steer a middle course between the brutal coalition of Parliament and Industry and the angry forces gathering against it. But can his rational, moderate voice be heard above the din of government militias on one side and the roaring militancy of Feargus O’Conor on the other?

Our Review:

6 August 2007

Jack Shepherd’s Holding Fire! is nearly a great play. It so almost gets there and only falters in its last stride. What a shame! For Shepherd and up-and-coming young tyro, Mark Rosenblatt (keep a good eye on him, he’s destined to go places, mark my words) have together produced a terrific piece of popular political and social theatre that despite its Victorian setting, suits the Globe perfectly.

Shepherd’s theme – and a timely one – is Chartism, a subject most of us will remember from school and which usually makes the eyes droop and glaze over. But the Chartists and their six-point Charter are important as our suffrage forebears. They fought to gain the universal vote – well, for male suffrage, women had to wait until after the First World War. At a time when voter turnout in this country has sunk to its lowest level, Shepherd’s drama could not be a more useful reminder of those who put themselves on the line to win the right for us all to have our say...

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Latest User Review

Catherine Browne - 16 August 2007:

Just brilliant. Ambitious and a theatrical spectacle! ...

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