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1904. A London sweatshop. Exhausted dressmakers toil through the night to meet the demands of affluent customers . . . First performed in 1904, this rarely-revived, impassioned political drama remains acutely relevant in today's world of cheap imports and fast fashion. The play tells the story of a group of dressmakers and their wealthy customers. The seamstresses are racing to finish the elaborate costumes that have been ordered for a ball taking place that very night. The aristocrats are preoccupied with their own concerns of marriage engagements, social climbing, and adultery, and have no idea of the effect their orders have on the workers struggling to fulfil their demands. The business owner, Madame Stephanie - a Stepney-born cockney with an assumed Parisian accent - drives her shattered employees to the point of collapse. Hope arrives in the form of a factory official come to investigate the illegal situation, but the inspector is powerless unless these women dare to rebel and tell the truth about their working conditions. And if they speak out, will anything change?

Creatives/Company

Author: Edith Lyttleton