The Shakespeare quote: “Though she be but little, she is fierce” perfectly sums up former North East MP, Ellen Wilkinson. The tenacious Labour politician may have been diminutive in stature but she had the heart of a lion when it came to championing the most vulnerable in society.
Known as Red Ellen, both for her bright red hair and her politics, she was an MP for Middlesbrough East from 1924 until 1931 and then MP for Jarrow from 1935 until 1947.
Ellen Wilkinson’s epic and inspiring life story is now the subject of a brand new play, ‘Red Ellen’, written by Caroline Bird and directed by Wils Wilson. ‘Forever on the right side of history, forever on the wrong side of life’ is how Bird describes Wilkinson, whose tireless energy to create a better world saw her fight to the end.
In the North East, Ellen Wilkinson is perhaps most well-known for leading 200 workers in the Jarrow Crusade, marching from Newcastle through Nottingham and the Midlands, all the way to London. The 26-day march culminated in them delivering a petition to reduce unemployment and poverty. Presenting the petition to Parliament, Wilkinson said: “During the last 15 years, Jarrow has passed through a period of industrial depression without parallel in the town’s history.”
Wilkinson herself had been born into poverty in Manchester. After graduating, she worked for a women’s suffrage organisation and advocated for women to have the vote. During her time in Parliament, she said: “Women have worked hard; starved in prison; given of their time and lives that we might sit in the House of Commons and take part in the legislating of this country.”
The stage production, telling the incredible story of Ellen Wilkinson, promises to show just what a life she led. Running, quite literally in some cases, into the likes of Albert Einstein and Ernest Hemingway, she battled to save Jewish refugees in Nazi Germany and campaigned for Britain to aid the fight against Franco’s Fascists in Spain.
During her time as a Member of Parliament, she served as a vital member of Winston Churchill’s cabinet, while outside of politics, she was an author.
Catch ‘Red Ellen’ at Newcastle’s Northern Stage between Friday 25th March and Saturday 9th April.
Tickets, priced from £10.00, are available at northernstage.co.uk.
