Britain

Review by Jamie Green

The Cramlington Train Wreckers, by Ed Waugh, has just completed a very successful tour in the North East. This is a powerful story based around Northumberland miners fighting to defend their livelihoods and communities and it is an appropriate production, given that we are currently in the fortieth anniversary of the miners’ strike of 1984-85.

The events relate to the derailment of an important train, The Flying Scotsman – which travelled between Edinburgh and London down the East Coast line – during the general strike of 1926. This took place in Cramlington, a mining village in Northumberland.

The story is told through the eyes of Bill Muckle, one of the eight courageous strikers who were later imprisoned for their part in the ground-breaking strike and the derailment. It was so good that it left most of the audience with tears in their eyes and warmth in their chests.

The play, written by Northumberland-born Ed Waugh, used excerpts from Muckle’s 1981 autobiography. With a team of talented producers and actors, the play riveted the sold-out audience, as it described the background – and the battle lines drawn – leading up to the strike that in the end shook the earth and thoroughly rattled the ruling class.

“With the railway workers, docks and other transport workers, the miners had formed the Triple Alliance in 1914, which by 1926 amounted to a combined membership of more than two million of the TUC’s 5.5 million members. Their watchword was “solidarity”. The mines, which had been nationalised during WWI to expedite production (surprise, surprise), were then returned to capitalists after the war”.

Muckle’s embodiment, played by Micky Cochrane, gave us a view of an ordinary young man striking for his livelihood. He told us of the dangerous and unhealthy working conditions of the mines, alongside the cramped and miserable living conditions in his daily life outside.

Yet he was facing an enforced 40% pay cut, so his was a struggle undertaken by all of the miners and their whole community. It would have been hard for anyone in this audience to walk away unsympathetic and untouched by Bill Muckle’s life.

Several challenging characters

The director, Russell Floyd, who also acted in the production, shifted attention flawlessly between several challenging characters, with a catalogue of varying accents. His portrayals of mineowner Lord Londonderry and Winston Churchill and other minor, but crucial, characters, left the audience in stitches.

His duet with fellow-actor, Alex Tahnee, as two overly affectionate ‘toff’ siblings, and their rendition of I’m Alright, Jack (Tom Robinson) transcends the passing decades. The tragic tale has withstood the last (near) 100 years. That great general strike was a revolution, and far from being a failure, it was betrayed.

Save spoiling further the details of this rich history, the strike was deceived by key political leaders at national level, and 10,000 strikers were eventually arrested for their involvement in the strike – including the “wreckers”. A large group of miners were involved in the derailment, although they expected to derail a coal train, not a passenger train.

Although there were no deaths from the derailment and only one person slightly injured, eight miners were betrayed by locals and given a total of 48 years imprisonment between them. They were given heroes’ welcomes on release, though several did not survive long after their stint in squalid prison conditions. Those who had pointed the finger at them were ostracised in the community for the rest of their lives.

Muckle’s bracing and solemn delivery of, Solidarity Forever was echoed by the audience, both in volume and heart. The pits are no longer here, so for many of these working-class communities there is no central ‘anchor’. But the struggle remains and the work remains to hold onto the traditions. Waugh’s work is an accomplished, harrowing and vibrant story – and completely necessary 100 years on.

It all made for a perfect way to spend a Friday evening out.

The Cramlington Train wreckers was sold out across nine venues in the North East. More information about the play can be found here. Ed Waugh is also known for his other plays: Wor Bella, Carrying David and Hadaway Harry and the latter is set for a tenth anniversary tour in the North-East in 2025. For more information, go here.