The Chambermaids

This adaptation of Kathleen McCreery play by Sunderland University tells the true story of a group of Grosvenor House Hotel chambermaids who, in 1979, took on Trust House Forte when their Jarrow-born shop steward was unfairly suspended, and they were sacked and evicted.

Divided by race, language, religion and culture, the maids found common cause in struggling for their rights as workers, as women, as immigrants and as trade unionists.

The play has been adapted from its original stylistic theatrical style to a realism piece by the students of Sunderland University. Humour, strong female characters, and naturalistic story-telling provide a concrete foundation for a show that is both comical yet rooted in an unjust reality.