Opus Theatre, Hastings, Saturday 26 August 2017

Robert Tressell’s The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists came back to Mugsborough last weekend – or rather Costal Productions brought their staging of Tressell’s masterpiece to Opus Theatre for two performances. A packed house was taken through the devious vicissitudes of the aristocracy and capitalist bosses as they sought to keep the workers in their place. Owen Hutchings brought us a deeply committed Frank Owen who tries to convince his fellow workers that they have the ability to control their own destiny if only they would accept it, but the long opening scene makes it all too clear why the revolution is taking so long to come, when too many of the workers are their own worst enemies.

Although on one level this is essentially a polemical work, it more than justifies its place within the theatre when it draws inevitably parallels with modern day situations. While there were references to Amber Rudd and Brexit, they were not really necessary in the light of the on-going refusal of people to take responsibility for their own lives through joint action rather than blaming others for the problems which surround them. The regular depression of wages is a constant theme throughout the play yet is still a relevant cause a century later.

The eight actors play a wide range of parts between them and it took a little time for these to establish themselves, as did the level of voices within the auditorium which tended to fade in the opening scenes. However, once we came to the brilliant analysis of the relationship between capital and labour, superbly choreographed by Owen Hutchings, the play moved to another level.

It was a long evening and not everyone returned after the interval, which was a pity for they missed the unfolding of an argument which is yet to reach resolution. It was telling that the political speeches towards the end did not need updating, for they were as crass as most tub-thumping is at election time. In the end, Frank Owen is obviously dying of consumption, brought on through his work, and the other painters are living on lower wages even where they are in work. Any current concerns about over meticulous Health & Safety regulations only need to witness the death of the elderly worker to realise that thankfully we are a world away from there.

The evening gave us much to contemplate and a sound basis for developing a greater political awareness – which is just what Robert Tressell would have wanted.