Women of Steel

Women of Steel is set in Corby, Northamptonshire - in the middle of England. Built on a rich seam of iron ore, this small village of 1,500 inhabitants was selected by Stewart and Lloyds in the 1930s as the site of a new Steel works. Due to the decline of Steel making in Scotland, there was no work at the Ravenscraig Steel works in Glasgow, so thousands of Scottish migrant Steelworkers looking for work walked down to Corby to staff the new plant. It was to become the largest Steel works in Europe and the village grew into a new town of 60,000, known as Little Scotland.

In 1979 Margaret Thatcher began her assault on Britain’s industrial base by announcing the closure of the Steel works, and the decline of a once-proud town began. In common with other towns around the world which have been stripped of their industries, the impact on the community was devastating. Inept and careless land reclamation left a toxic legacy which is still affecting those being born now.

The play tells the story of the rise and fall of the Steel industry through the eyes of women and children. It focuses on where people came from, the fight to save Steel, life after the closures, the impact on young women growing up in the 1990s and the connection to the toxic waste.

We perform in solidarity with the people of Port Talbot and Scunthorpe who are currently facing the same industrial demise, and to raise awareness of the campaign for a public enquiry into the toxic waste mismanagement.

The second part of the evening will be a Q&A with the cast and a presentation from Toxic Waste campaigners, Tracie Taylor, Maggie Mahon and Lisa Atkinson who fought and won a high court case against our local council.

Corby Women’s Theatre Group have been making plays since 2002, creating work which tells women’s stories, often performed on International Women’s Day.

The group’s own story is told in Women’s Ways, Women’s Plays, a book archiving their work. Both it and the original Women of Steel are available from major bookstores and online.

Corby Women’s Theatre Group can be contacted via their Director, Paula Boulton: [email protected]

Information about the mismanagement of the toxic waste and link to petition: https://chng.it/ct7kxTwDqd or contact [email protected]

There are a limited number of free tickets available for former Steel workers, ask inside the venue for details.

Standard Tickets: £12

Concessions: £10