Mining Stories

Women take to the streets against pit closures

All the Fun of the Fight is the result of a unique collaboration between Jane, her husband Wakefield lad John Godber who directs the play and Wakefield Theatre Royal. It's the story of two women who got caught up in the events of the Miners Strike but it's also about Wakefield itself and the changes the city has seen since the strike. Jane has written extensively for both stage and screen. Like John Godber she was born and brought up in West Yorkshire and studied at Bretton Hall College so she knows a thing or two about the county.  However, we wanted to find out more about what had inspired her to write All the Fun of the Fight.

Why did you decide it was time for a new play about the Miners Strike?

It's ten years this year since the Labour government introduced a policy for regeneration and renewal in the coalfields.  I wondered what kind of impact this has had in the Wakefield area and what it's meant all these years later to the communities that were involved in the '84 strike.  How are they benefiting from an indoor ski slope in Castleford for example?

What effect do you think the Strike had on the lives of the women who were caught up in its events, both at the time and for the future?

During the strike many of the women who became involved enjoyed a new and emancipated status.  They became more politically aware, they started to question the media, they travelled further afield.  What developed was a broad social and political movement.  Whether these women returned to their old lives after the strike (ie as traditional working class housewives) or not,  they can never forget what they experienced in those twelve months. So, in that way their lives were irrevocably changed.

Why did you and John Godber decide to premiere the play in Wakefield?

We've both had a long association with Wakefield. John grew up in the area and both of us attended Bretton Hall College.  All the Fun of the Fight celebrates the lives of people in the Wakefield area so it's fitting that it's going to be premièred there in what must surely be be one of the most beautiful theatres in the country.

Do you think other parts of the country could benefit from seeing the play?

I'd love the play to be seen in other areas.  It's not just about mining, it's about families, love and the importance of memories.  All universal themes.

You won a BAFTA for Oddsquad set in Hull and your adaptation of Wuthering Heights was very well received. To what extent do you think your work is inspired by places where you've lived?

I think that it's always best to write about what you know about, both people and places. When I sit down to write I hear real voices, see real rooms or landscapes. I feel that whatever style of theatre you choose to work in you have to be truthful.  Even when you're writing about something unfamiliar that demands a lot of research you still filter it through characters you know and stories that are personal to you.

Are there any particular themes which you particularly want to explore in your plays?

You see and hear ideas for plays around you all the time. It's just getting round to committing the ideas to paper. That's the hard bit! I work a lot with young people and I'm particularly interested in developing more theatre for them.

You are not only a dramatist but an actor and director. Do you have any advice for young people in West Yorkshire who might be considering a career in drama?

I think I'd say: "Go to University or college and get a degree in drama or theatre, then follow your heart!"  It's an incredibly risky business. A very high percentage of actors are unemployed and it's getting harder.  I'd also say make sure that you have another string to your bow.