Luton’s working-class roots, its history of activism and its tradition of standing up for one another will take centre stage this week as a new theatre project comes to St Mary’s Church on Friday, 20 February at 7pm.
Speak Low, Rise High, created by Revoluton Arts associate artist Cheryl Prince in partnership with 5D Theatre, promises an evening of stories, performance and conversation inspired by the town’s factory floors and the people who shaped them.
For Prince, who grew up in Luton, the project has become a personal journey into the town’s past and present.
“I have found out a lot about Luton of late,” she said in a social media post. “Speaking to many people, chatting about stories very much, hearing that there’s a sense of uprising being an activism and if you want something done, do it yourself attitude in this town.
“And that seems to expand out throughout the ages, when lots of people that I spoke to their family were shop stewards, which meant that they stood out on the shop floor where they were working, and they stood for the community and stood up for human rights, people’s rights, workers rights. That’s pretty amazing.”
Over November and December, Ms Prince worked with residents across the town to gather memories, expressions and untold stories that continue to shape Luton’s identity. The result is a free community sharing at St Mary’s Church.
She explained that the stories she has collected reflect a long tradition of social change in Luton.
“And I’ve been gathering together those stories of uprising and people bringing social change, because that’s always been why I write stories, why I’m a theatre maker, why I write my own stories. Because I want to bring social change, change the way things are.
“I’m very much into activism and see in the world and how we can change it, and what’s not right in it be changed to what is right. So I guess I’m very little, and I’m very working class, and I’m very much in sync with the town’s ethos. So I have found out.”
The project also explores language and heritage, tracing connections between Ms Prince’s own upbringing and the long-forgotten working-class language of Canting, which predates Cockney and has inspired her stage play called Awaken.
Speak Low, Rise High is presented as part of a Revoluton Arts project supported by Arts Council England and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Organisers say the evening will celebrate Luton as a town of makers – from cars and hats to ball bearings and beyond – and invite audiences to see their own stories reflected back at them on stage.
The event is free to attend but booking a place is advised: https://revolutonarts.beaconforms.com/form/a190d2ee
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