Issue 3 – Tuesday 1 August
Swing by the Confict & Peace Centre
Naomi Koppel
Edward Maltby from Conflict and Peace isn't carrying the huge scythe around just to impress.
He’s one of those taking part in a play that tells the story of some courageous local men, and he's looking for other people who want to help out in the production.
“In 1830, Kent saw its last great uprising of labourers – the Captain Swing Riots,” Edward says.
Rural labourers who had been forced off the land revolted against low wages and the introduction of machines which took away their work. They burnt down barns, smashed machines and wrote anonymous letters, conveying their demands to the farmers. These letters were signed “Captain Swing.”
The play, also called “Captain Swing,” tells the story of the riots, and the Conflict and Peace centre aims to perform it later at Global Village.
Anyone who is interested should sign up on the sheet in the Conflict and Peace Centre.
There will be a day of rehearsals on Friday, with the shows after that.