Last week I worked on a Play In A Week project for the
Laurence Batley Theatre and Heritage Quay at the University of Huddersfield.
The Heritage Quay is an archive of Huddersfield’s local
and international history, and it’s a fantastic snapshot of the character of
Hudd, something this little York lad has grown to appreciate over the years.
The young people I’ve worked with through the LBT have
been feisty, inventive and full of character, and this project was no
exception. Using items from the archive,
as well as local historian Cyril Pearce popping in for a chat, and the group’s
own knowledge, we devised a show around the Conscientious Objectors of the 1st
World War, mainly from the perspective of the people of Huddersfield.
This involved first a lot of unpacking ‘socialism’, ‘conscription’,
‘liberalism’ and the women’s movement. I
even managed to slide some anarchism in there.
This was just sly of a slog, and we kept it fun and open rather than
narrow and intense. But it had to form
the bedrock of the show, like the archive it had to reflect the real stories of
the city. We couldn’t be afraid of these
words, terms and historical accuracy.
But it was important to make sure the group knew we were
telling the story of these people, their lives, opinions, beliefs, families, friends,
work and hopes. As much as international
socialism was a cornerstone, was what more important was making the audience
care about these people living 100 years ago.
The group did marvellously well at balancing both, and I
didn’t try and force my opinion on them.
Hopefully there was room for debate.
Certainly the show told the COs tale, but the issue was explored from a number
of angles.
I think we are told continually that the COs were mainly
religious men, but the Huddersfield story is one of working class solidarity as
well. The politics cannot be
ignored. Nor the fact it split the women’s
movement, and though some proved themselves good citizens, others opposed a
male government’s profit-hungry war.
As much as we need to encourage young people to tell
their relevant current stories, it’s also important to remember the place they
come from, the world that’s trying to be covered up, forgotten about, rejected
and remade. 100 years ago socialism and
anti-militarism were not dirty words, they were part and parcel of modern life
for the working class of Huddersfield, and a history that should not only be
presented and explored, but celebrated and learnt from.
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