There are two related stage works have been based on the same historical incident, generally referred to as "The Matchgirls' strike"[1]:

The Match Girls is a play by Robert Mitchell (1941)

The original text

The play written by Robert Mitchell (Robert Macauley Mitchell, fl.1940s), tells the story of the 1888 strike for union rights by unskilled female workers at the Bryant and May factory in London’s East End, the first strike by unorganized workers to gain national publicity. Their action helped inspire the formation of unions all over the country.

The play had been written by Robert Mitchell for London's Unity Theatre[2], a people's theatre group that first performed the play in 1941.

The script for The Match Girls is held at V&A Theatre and Performance Collections [3].

Translations and adaptations

See The Matchgirls (below)

Performance history in South Africa

1949: Presented by the University of Cape Town's Speech and Drama Department at the Little Theatre in March, directed by Rosalie van der Gucht.

The Matchgirls a musical play by Bill Owen and Tony Russell (1966)

The original text

Well known socialist actor Bill Owen (1914-1999)[4] had been closely involved with Unity Theatre for many years long before he became famous, and - obviously inspired by the 1941 play - he adapted the story as a musical play in 1966, slightly renaming it The Matchgirls. The book was by Owen and the score by Tony Russell (1929-1970)[5].

In this version the central character is "Kate", a factory worker, who writes to famous writer and activist Annie Besant to ask for help. The story follows Kate and Annie’s attempts to rally the girls, leading Kate to become a fearless strike leader.

The musical play premiered at the Globe Theatre, London, on 1 March 1966, directed and choreographed by Gillian Lynne (1926-2018)[6].