Octagon Theatre Bolton, Oldham Coliseum

It’s the end of the Wakes’ weekend in the fictitious mill town of Hindle in Lancashire, just before the outbreak of the First World War.

Mill worker Fanny Hawthorn and mill owner’s son Alan Jeffcote are returning home after a weekend alone together in a Llandudno hotel - kept secret from their parents - and from Alan’s fiancée Beatrice.

But when a dramatic turn of events exposes their deception, they find themselves in conflict with both sets of parents. Faced with the pressure to ‘become an honest woman’, Fanny is determined to pursue her own future.

Hindle Wakes is funny, compelling and extraordinarily authentic in its depiction of Lancashire life at the time. One of the first plays to have a working class female central character, it was considered to be hugely controversial when first performed, championing the role of women as they embarked on a new era of independence and freedom.

Post Show Talk-Back after the performance on Tuesday 24th March.