Down Our Street

Synopsis

Down Our Street is a musical play celebrating the life and times of Cammell Laird, the greatest shipbuilders in the world, from the industrial revolution to the present day. For well over a century and a half, ?The Yard' was the employer of thousands upon thousands of people from, the Wirral, across the water in Liverpool and beyond, building some of the most famous and greatest ships in history. The town of Birkenhead was built around the Shipbuilding industry and most families, if not all had some connection to Cammell Laird. Down Our Street celebrates this through the eyes of the people of Merseyside and the workers ?down the yard'.

Latest User Review

Jul - 24 April 2013:

Down Our Street by Brian McCann At the Royal Court, Liverpool. First impressions of the layout show that the stage is divided into two tiers – a street occupies the base with the doors to three houses on either side (six in all if you do the maths) leaving most of the stage free for performance. Above and to the rear, is a gantry that allows further characters to perform. Behind the gantry are three large screens that display images, photos or film of the area and people at the time, so supplementing the sense of history. The set does not alter throughout the play – this typical Merseyside street remains the same. Changing times are marked by the gantry characters, the actors’ use of costumes and props and also by the images on screen. What on earth is it about? Well, the play is a musical drama that documents 150 years of Birkenhead’s history through its close relationship of its people with the shipbuilding yard of ‘Cammell Laird’. It begins in 1853 with the aspirations of William Laird to “build the greatest ships in the world” in Birkenhead and his benevolent wishes to provide jobs, homes and better lives for the people. The play progresses through the years with lightening speed, highlighting notable occasions that affected the shipyard and its workers during this time. As mentioned, the ‘Street’ does not alter throughout the performance and this captures the fact that many of the rows of terraced ‘two-up/two downs’ in Merseyside have barely changed either. The occupants were working class and remain working class. The fact that the street is always in ‘status quo’ shows the lack of real progress for the workers’ living standards over the 150 years. The gantry is well-designed in order to bring on an historical character from the past and so convey the feelings and mood at the specific time of the scene. For example: the change in Cammell Laird’s directors over the years and how this affected the workers is cleverly managed. Other notable characters convey the history that affected the whole of the UK as well as Birkenhead; such as: Charles Dickens (Victorian era), Wilfred Owen (World War 1) and Winston Churchill (World War 2). These changes in time are supported superbly by the changing screen images, which are extremely evocative and bring an added dimension to the scene. Following the ‘speeches’ given by the historical characters, delivered from the gantry, the actors then take the stage to portray what was happening to the people at the time. This play covers so many facets of human history within its time slot that it is hard to remember them. There is: · Capitalism, ranging from kindly benefactor to ‘get rich quick’ fat cats; · Socialism, exploring the ‘them and us’ situation and workers rights within industry; · Foreign policy, with immigrants ‘taking the jobs from’ natives but subsequently becoming part of our rich society; · Tragedy; particularly with the losses during the wars but also due to the loss of jobs when shipbuilding is on a downturn. · Feminism; the change in the position of women in society is obviously happening, although, women are still appearing to be in the dark ages in 1980!! · Drugs; there is even a scene of a couple of ‘hoodies’ discussing drug dealing for a brief moment! · Illness, job loss, anger and change are all here. So far, this may paint a fairly serious and perhaps, dour view of the play, however, it is most definitely the opposite of this. Although the speeches from the gantry are serious and deliver the necessary information to the audience, the following portrayal of the event at the time (in the ‘Street’) by the actors, is extremely amusing and it is also punctuated by the type of songs that draw the audience in and make them feel part of the play. Often loud and raucous; occasionally mournful; the music is a great feature of the play. Lindzi Germain should be particularly praised for her contribution to the Corporation Street siren song of red lights! Micky Finn is one of the actors in the Street who is also assigned the Winston Churchill speech; he may have looked the part – but sound it?!! Churchill with a scouse accent could be one of the most hilarious portrayals of the great man - ever! May I also say that Micky’s ramblings as a drunk – many fast moving, tiny steps, coming to a stumbling halt, were particularly true to the mark! A more poignant moment came when the actors became children during the blitz of World War 2. The actor Lenny Wood arrives at his friend’s house to play, only to find that said friend’s house has been demolished by a bomb during the previous night’s raid. The sadness is palpable and the audience is already transported back in time, but then, the situation is made more emotive as all actors turn and face the screens in silence. There is no acting now – just images of the devastation inflicted on Birkenhead and the thoughts of the lives that were lost and ruined. No distraction is present at all from the film on screen – extremely thought-provoking with regard to the conditions people lived in and through during the war, because now, in the 21st century, few are left to clearly remember first-hand. An extremely controversial subject was also highlighted during the play given the very recent death of Margaret Thatcher. Her historical character appeared towards the end of the play and was quoted as saying “there will be no more them and us”! Despite the antagonism that has been fuelled by the past and then by the media, there were perhaps three hisses as ‘Maggie’ left the gantry. All good – I think! Not because I was a fan of hers but because I find it hard to associate myself with retribution. The final gantry speaker is Ruth Laird who is a true descendant of William Laird – the entrepreneur of Cammell Laird – and she gives the departing speech. This play is an educational jaunt through history that may astound or remind you of years gone by. GO WATCH IT – LAUGH AND CRY! ...

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