New play's tour launches in Derbyshire

A new play about a post-war mining family is setting out on its debut major tour which opens in Derbyshire.
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On Behalf of the People, written by Ray Castleton, is set in 1953 and reveals the struggle that affected millions from pit communities in the face of enormous political and social change,

Ray Ashcroft, best known for his long-running TV role in The Bill, plays George Mason who fights battles and an election in a Yorkshire mining town.

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The Melting Shop’s powerful play sheds light on how communities were affected by the end of the war, coal nationalisation and the huge period of social change which impacted on their lives, love, hopes and dreams.

Playwright Ray said: “On Behalf of the People is based on extensive research about the people who lived in mining communities just after the war and how the aftermath of the war and the massive change – the election of the post war Labour government, nationalisation, the new health service and the development of social housing – impacted on their lives.”

The tour opens at Chesterfield College on Friday, May 25, at 7.30pm and travels onto Derby Theatre where it will be staged on May 27 at 7pm.

Other performances include: Imperial Rooms, Matlock, on June 9 at 7.30pm, Hathersage Memorial Hall on June 27 at 7.30pm. Wirksworth Town Hall on June 29 at 7.30pm, Bolsover Assembly Rooms on July 6 at 7.30pm, Buxton’s Bath Road Centre on July 7, 8 and 9 at 7.30pm and Creswell Social Centre on July 12 at 7.30pm.