BBC Radio 6 DJ Stuart Maconie comes to The Epstein Theatre on Saturday 18 May with Jarrow: Road to the Deep South.
The show forms part of the programme for WoWFest, the 20th annual month-long literature festival from Liverpool’s longest running writing and literary organisation, Writing on the Wall.
In this must-see show, Stuart discusses his best-selling book where he retraced the steps of the Jarrow March of 1936, an organised protest against unemployment and poverty from Tyneside to London.
In the autumn of 1936, some 200 men from the Tyneside town of Jarrow marched 300 miles to London in protest against the destruction of their towns and industries. Precisely 80 years on, Stuart Maconie, walks from north to south retracing the route of the emblematic Jarrow Crusade.
Travelling down the country’s spine, Maconie moves through a land that is, in some ways, very much the same as the England of the 30s with its political turbulence, austerity, north/south divide, food banks and of course, football mania. Yet in other ways, it is completely unrecognisable.
Talking about the journey, Stuart Maconie said: “Three and half weeks. Three hundred miles. I saw roaring arterial highway and silent lanes, candlelit cathedrals and angry men in bad pubs. The Britain of 1936 was a land of beef paste sandwiches and drill halls. Now we are nation of vaping and nail salons, pulled pork and salted caramel.”
Writing on the Wall Co-Director Madeline Heneghan added: “Our programme is designed to give audiences a space for discussion, debate, new ideas, and answers to the questions that people across the nation are asking. We have a fabulous line-up of writers and artists, and we are proud to deliver such a high-quality line up for Liverpool during our 20th annual festival.”
Audiences will learn about Maconie’s journey in which he visited the great cities, sleepy hamlets, quiet lanes and roaring motorways. He will share stories from those he met, whose voices build a funny, complex and entertaining tale of Britain, then and now.
LISTING INFORMATION
STUART MACONIE – JARROW: ROAD TO THE DEEP SOUTH
Date: Saturday 18th May
Venue: Epstein Theatre, 85 Hanover St, L1 3DZ
Time: 7pm
Tickets: Standard £16, Concession £9
