There are two works 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 (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 script for The Match Girls is held at V&A Theatre and Performance Collections [2].

Translations and adaptations

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)

Probably inspired by the play, the story was retold as a musical in 1966, with a book by Bill Owen (1914-1999)[3] and score by Tony Russell (1929-1970)[4]. The central character of the musical 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)[5].