Sweet new plays in Daventry area

Mikron Theatre Company presents Canary Girls and Pure as the firm stops in Braunston, Crick and Welford.

Canary Girls is a funny, heartfelt and tender story about two sisters seizing the opportunities offered to women by the outbreak of World War One, and becoming shell-workers in the local munitions factory.

For sisters, Rose and Lizzie, their new lives offer them money, independence, excitement and political awakening…until they realise the danger of shell work and how their dreams of a new world are pulling them apart.

With original music by folk superstars, O’Hooley and Tidow, Canary Girls has humour and pathos, romance and danger; all performed by a hugely talented team of four singing, instrument-playing, character-swapping actors.

Playwright, Laurence Peacock joins Mikron for the first time this year after he was selected from other hopefuls to undertake this commission, a challenge that he was excited to take on.

He said: “Researching the Canary Girls was absolutely fascinating. During WWI so much happened to change the position of women in such a short space of time. The only major problem I had was, how am I going to get ‘Trinitrotoluene’ (TNT) into a song?”

Touring alongside Canary Girls is Mikron’s other new show, Pure a story of many flavours about the business of chocolate.

95 per cent of us love chocolate and 8 billion of us eat it every single day here in the UK; we just can’t get enough of the stuff.

Mikron and their team of four oh-so-talented actor/musicians have turned their talents to a number of gastronomic delights over the years; fish and chips, ice cream, beer and honey amongst them, and now, chocolate.

The fast-paced plot zips backwards and forwards through the years, throwing up little-known facts and questions to ponder, all wrapped up, not in silver foil, but in a perfect package of live music and memorable characters.

With two interwoven plots, 150 years apart, Pure examines the business of chocolate and asks if success always has a sweet smell.

Canary Girls can first of all be seen on Thursday June 16 starting at 7.30pm ay Wharf Inn in Welford. Two days later it goes to The Admiral Nelson in Braunson.

Sandwiched between those two dates is Pure at The Moorings on West Haddon Road, Crick.

This is an outdoor show with the option of a shelter if the weather is bad. No tickets are required at any of the shows, a cash collection will be taken after the show.

For more about the company and other dates visit www.mikron.org.uk.