There is a Light That Never Goes Out

The Industrial Revolution was the original Northern Powerhouse, but not everyone bought into the future it promised. In mills and factories across England, angry workers smashed the new machines that threatened their way of life. These workers – the Luddites – were written off as enemies of progress. But their 19th-century complaint, that bosses were using technology as an excuse to beat down the workers, resonates now more strongly than ever. Using 21st-century artefacts and technology, this vivid and passionate production shows how the Luddites helped inspire the birth of Manchester’s radical political identity – and how their long-misunderstood protests remain massively relevant today.