Protest! - Events to commemorate 100 years of campaigns since General Strike

The Folk of Gloucester, supported by Voices Gloucester, is opening an exhibition and a programme of events to celebrate and remember important campaigns and protests that have happened in the Gloucestershire over the last 100 years since the General Strike of 1926.

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In 1926, 1.7 million workers across the UK went on strike to protest wage reductions and worsening conditions for coal miners. Gloucester played a unique role with its links to the Forest of Dean coal fields and the docks.

The special exhibition is part of a countrywide commemoration of the General Strike (General Strike 100) and highlights local people’s involvement in campaigns to improve, change or represent important views concerning local and national issues.

“We have various campaigns highlighted in the exhibition,” said John Bassett, Events Manager at the Folk of Gloucester, “including Hands Off Our Forest, CND and Greenham Common, Rock against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League, and the Gloucester Gay and Lesbian Community. There are also campaigns to save historic buildings and the environment, such as Hill Paul and the “Tesco Trees” campaign in Stroud. We will also feature more recent campaigns including the Phlebotomists Strike, Palestine Solidarity and Stroud’s Save Our Lido campaign as part of the exhibition.”

The exhibition runs from May1st to May 23^rd and admission is free.

Stories that have been told will also form part of a new performance called Protest! which will be happen as part of the Folk’s ongoing Soup Theatre performances. The Protest! performance will take place on Friday 1^st May at 1.00pm, where people can enjoy a bowl of soup and watch a 50-minute play for £10.00. There will be an additional “Cake Theatre” performance on the afternoon of Saturday 2^nd May at 2.30pm, with cake and a hot drink instead of soup.

“The Protest! performance will retell some of the story of the General Strike and also feature the voices of the campaigns that have been over the last 100 years,” said John Bassett.

Also, on the 2^nd of May at 11.00am, there will be a special talk from local historian Tony Conder about the General Strike in Gloucester offering background to the strike and the effects on miners in the Forest of Dean and Gloucester dock workers. Tickets for this are just £5.00.

There will be a special concert on 9^th May featuring protest songs from the last 100 years. This will include local and national performers including punk folk band Nasty Fishmonger from Bristol and new songs and performances from Gloucester Songwriters group. Tickets are £15.00 and £12.00 for concessions.

There are also two film screenings of special documentaries which retell the stories of Greenham Common and Rock Against Racism. Gentle Angry Women features young activists talking to and walking with Greenham Common women to learn the story of the campaign, whilst award winning documentary White Riot tells the story of how Rock Against Racism formed to combat the National Front in the late 1970s and includes interviews with many of the musicians involved including Tom Robinson, The Clash and Poly Styrene.

The screenings take place on Friday 15^th May and Saturday 16^th May.

Tickets for film screenings are £5.00

Finally, there will be a follow-up “Question Time”-style debate on 26^th May at 6.00pm featuring a panel made up from people with an interest in protest campaigns. These include John Bassett: Events Coordinator at The Folk of Gloucester and Curator of “Protest!”; Jacqui Grange: Director of Voices Gloucester; Dr Omar El Masri: Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Gloucester; and David Morgan, Voices Gloucester Panel Member. This debate is free and open to anyone.