Strike! Tickets
A South African grapefruit starts something that will take nearly three years to finish…
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Change is often brought about by individual action, whether it's Rosa Parks sitting on a bus or the suffragettes chaining themselves to railings. In 1984 in Dublin, a shop assistant, Mary Manning, at Dunnes Stores, refused to put three grapefruits through the till that a customer wanted to buy. Why? Because the fruit had been imported from South Africa, where apartheid or racial segregation had existed since 1948, causing untold suffering. Manning is suspended, but some of her fellow workers come out in support of her. Tracy Ryan’s play follows what happened next and how the actions of the workers helped Ireland become the first country in the world to ban imports from apartheid South Africa, something that Nelson Mandela recognised when he made Ireland the first European country he visited after his release from prison. Rising costs for theatre mean cast sizes are getting ever smaller, but not for this show. Kirsty Patrick Ward’s production boasts a cast of 13—all of them paid Equity rates.
About Strike!
Dunne’s Stores, Dublin, July 1984 It’s a hot, hot summer and Frankie Goes to Hollywood are riding high in the charts. At Dunne’s Store, shop assistant Mary Manning refuses to ring up a grapefruit, sticking to her union instructions not to handle South African goods, in protest of the country’s apartheid policies. Mary is immediately suspended and it’s not long before she and eight other young women and one young man, all workers at Dunne’s, are out on strike. It’ll only last a few weeks… Full of passion and humour, Strike! is the true story of the hardships and personal sacrifices, the friendships and camaraderie these extraordinary young people experienced as they stood up for what they believed in. As their understanding of the suffering under apartheid in South Africa and the politics within their own Government deepened, they began a journey that would change their lives, and Ireland, forever. Age Recommendation: 14+