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It takes Guts to stand up for equality


Banner for Guts at Hull Truck Theatre

Taking audiences back to 1984, when 15 women in a fish packing factory in Hull made history and changed the Equalities Act, new community production Guts! The Musical is a partnership between Hull Maritime Museum and Hull Truck Theatre, running from June 29-July 6.

Hull writer Maureen Lennon was commissioned to write a community play by the museum and the theatre and she came up with Guts!. She said: "They knew they wanted it to centre on women’s stories as that feels like a less-well-known area of Hull’s maritime history, but they were open about what that story could be.

"I stumbled on this short film made by the TUC for their Equal Pay archive, all about the original case of the women fish packers who went on strike for equal pay with the men. I immediately felt like this could be a brilliant story, Hull’s own Made In Dagenham, and it felt unknown in the city.

"I think it's a story about who we are as a city. About how we can look after each other and stand up for each other, and how being created by the community itself feels so vital and important. The stories we tell about ourselves as a city help shape who we can be in the future. If we end up anything like the amazing group of people in this play, it will be pretty special."


More info and tickets here



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