Harlesden Area Guide

TownsendTheatre Productions presents WEARETHELIONS, MR MANAGER! -thestory of Jayaben DesaiandtheGrunwick Strike Written by Neil Gore Directed by Louise Townsend "We Are The Lions, Mr Manager!" is the story of the Great Grunwick Film Processing Factory Strike of 1976-8, and the inspirational strike-leader Jayaben Desai, one of many newly arrived Gujarati women workers from East Africa. Grunwick wasnt a strike about wages it was about something much more important than that: it was about dignity. Dignity at work.And, forthesmall band of Asian women strikers, who bravedthesun, rain,andsnow month-inandmonth-out onthepicket lines, from August 1976 to July 1978, rights intheworkplaceandpride at workwere far more important than any amount of money. Night after nightthepublic watched dramatic television footage of clashes onthepicket lines, between snatch squadsandregimented police lines, ontheone side,andwave after wave of trade union members, picketsandprotesters, ontheother. Each morningthestrikers, a group of predominantly Asian women, colourful saris often hidden beneath heavy woollen coats, would take uptheir posts onthepicket lines, unbowedandunbroken intheface of intimidation,thethreat of arrestandthesting ofthecold. They had been employed by Grunwick, a photographic processing factory in north-west London, inthebelief thatthey would be easy to handle, to browbeatandto exploit. Yet,they foundtheir own distinctive voice inthecourse ofthestruggle to securetheir rights. Even duringthehardest of times, Jayaben Desai hadtheuncanny ability to evoke a mood or sum up a situation with a perfectlyweighted turn of phrase. In this way, she hadthemeasure ofthemost brutishandcharmless of her managers, when she toldthem: What youarerunning here is not a factory, it is a zoo. But in a zootherearemany types of animals. Somearemonkeys who dance on your fingertips, othersarelionswho can bite your head off.Wearethelions, Mr. Manager! Ranged againstthese lions ofthetrade union movement was, however, a new type of employer ruthlessandimplacable in defence of his right to makethemaximum amount of profit, regardless ofthehuman cost,andbehind him a new, highly ideological breed of hard right-wing politicians, fanatically devoted to neoliberalismandthedestruction ofthehard-won freedoms of working people. Jayaben Desai: ...my English not good. Yet she talkedthelanguage of Ghandi, withtheburning sense of injustice of La Passionara. Indeed, at times she was almost Shakespearean. She had a way with words that capturedthevery essence ofthehuman spirit. Grunwick truly did make history.Thestrike sawthebiggest mobilisation in labour movement history around a local dispute, with 20,000 descending on Chapter Road in Willesden on 11 July 1977. Grunwick saw one ofthemost remarkable acts of solidarity in labour movement history withthebrave stand taken bytheCricklewood post office workers. Grunwick put centre-stagetheissue oftheexploitation of immigrant workers, nailingthemyth that Asian workerswere passiveandunorganisable. Grunwick was a defining moment in the trade union and political lives of tens of thousands, who came to the streets of Brent to back the Grunwick workers. 'The story of Jayaben Desai... makes you laugh, feel and think... a powerful story, powerfully told.' Clare Brennan Read the full review "Magnificent Play" Peter Frost. The Morning Star (Front Page) Read the full review 'This production is an absolute winner.' Chris Omaweng. @LondonTheatre1 Read the full review