All Wrapped Up in Westwood

The Undercroft, Serpentine Green, Oct 26-Nov 5

Eastern Angles will be presenting their latest production at The Undercroft theatre in the basement of Serpentine Green Shopping Centre later this month.

This new show, All Wrapped Up in Westwood is a community play based on the experiences of people who worked at Freemans Distribution Centre in Peterborough. Written by Eastern Angles’ Artistic Director Ivan Cutting and directed by Poppy Rowley, the musical play will be performed at the Hampton Shopping Centre by a cast of 24 local community performers between October 26th and November 5 th . Eastern Angles have spent six months creating the show by visiting Peterborough city archives, researching verbatim accounts from the time and interviewing former Freemans’ employees.

“The response to the project has been amazing,” says writer Ivan Cutting. “Everyone in Peterborough seems to know someone who worked for Freemans, and they all have a story to tell. The overriding feeling seems to be that it was very sociable place to work - a place where lifelong friendships were formed and family members worked side by side.”

“But another interesting aspect of the story was the fight for equal pay for women – this is something we cover in the play, it was Peterborough’s equivalent of ‘Made in Dagenham’” All Wrapped Up in Westwood is part of a wider Heritage Lottery Funded project, Delivered by Freemans, which will continue until March 2018 with further oral history interviews, an exhibition and special booklet celebrating the role of Freemans and its employees in Peterborough. Tickets for All Wrapped Up in Westwood are available by ringing the Eastern Angles Box Office on01473 211498 or by visiting: www. easternangles.co.uk