Synopsis

The musical opens in 1802 with the birth of twin boys to an Oldham collier's wife, Sarah Lees. The abject poverty of the working classes is worsened, around this time, by the effects of the Napoleonic Wars, the Corn Laws, the rise of the factory system and the accompanying health and social hazards in the factories and the coalmines.

As the twins grow we see what life was like through the eyes of the children. The death of Joseph, the twins' father, in a pit accident occasioned by the use of child labour down the pit, would prove to have a lasting effect on the Lees family.

When they are seventeen years old, on 16 August 1819, the twins take a day off work to join a march into Manchester, along with other working class folk from most northern towns. The march to St Peter's Field has a real carnival atmosphere, but this is changed by the charge of the 15th Manchester Hussars into the unarmed and peaceful crowd. The brutality and hopelessness of the Peterloo Massacre culminates in the death of one of the twins. This murder kindles a desire in the remaining twin to fight for all the reforms his brother had died for: workers rights; health and safety issues; universal suffrage; the reform of the Corn Laws and education for all.

Ten years later, with the help of Jane Milne, the Parson's daughter, we see a reformed and newly educated twin join the reformist, John Knight. He tours the area giving speeches, especially in the local pubs, to encourage people to join the fight for reform and representation. The Angel Inn, on High Street, was well-known for the quality of the debates to be heard there, but even here the apathy of the working people is clearly seen. They would rather drown their sorrows in the pub or go to a cockfight than talk about politics, or the need for the vote.

After an attempt on the lives of Knight and William Cobbett, to try to thwart the local campaign for reform, the perpetrators of the twin's murder are brought to justice. The campaigning continues and, just when it seems that he is ready to give it all up, the remaining twin hears the announcement of the First Reform Bill in 1831, and the desire of the people of Oldham for him to be their representative in Parliament.

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Songs