Chicken Soup at the Crucible Theatre Sheffield Review

Reviewed by Jenny Seymour

Yet another emotional journey, this time through the recent history of a South Yorkshire mining town from the writers of Operation Crucible.

Like the amazing Operation Crucible, Chicken Soup is also being performed at the Crucible Studio Theatre. Such a small auditorium that you actually feel like you are on set with the all-female cast and joining in their chats. The play is well cast.

This particular journey starts 5 days after the violent clashes between miners and the police at Orgreave and takes us right up to more recent political events – the day of the Brexit referendum and is told through the eyes of 5 women. 3 of them are married to men who “were there” and lived through the events of the day; 1 was actually the wife of a “scab” and the 5th was born in the months following Orgreave.

As I say, this is an all-female cast, so the tale is told, not through the eyes of the miners themselves, but from the women who were mobilised to support the strike action by setting up a soup kitchen to feed them. However, this play doesn’t seem to glorify the women or put them on a pedestal for the vital role they played – rather it looks at the devastation that year of strike action had on their family lives, friendships and the determination to succeed. Whilst some of the women move on with their lives after some difficult times, one of the women in particular just cannot move on.

Josie and Christine (Shameless and Coronation Street’s Samantha Power) set up the soup kitchen a few weeks before Orgreave for the families of the miners on strike. In walks Jen to help (the wife of a miner who was beaten and arrested on that day) and she shares her husband’s story of what happened to him on that day and what he saw in the eyes of the coppers that were beating them. This wasn’t just a fight for increased wages or more holiday – this was a fight for their industry, jobs, children’s future and their community. This was why Christine was so heart-broken when her brother decides to betray his colleagues and cross that picket line – to become a “scab”. So much so that she simply could never forgive him or his wife, Helen (played by This is England’s Jo Hartley).

I actually wanted to shout out to Christine to stop being silly – life is too short to hold such a grudge! However, in her mind, her brother had acted treacherously and selfishly, and she couldn’t see his point of view. In her mind, the community were fighting together and had to stand united (regardless of the impact that had on their lives – lack of food, money etc), whereas Phil and Helen wanted to feed their son, Jack. So sad to think of the grudges that people do hold, and that people do actually die without making amends to each other.

We are then taken on a journey of news clips through to 2002, the Queens’ Jubilee. Most of the ladies have moved on with their lives, but Chris is still stuck in the same village, serving the same people from the community hall and still angry about the injustice of Orgreave. I didn’t like this scene as much – whilst we first meet Katie here (Jen’s daughter) and witness the mother/teenage daughter relationship, (which I am dreading by the way!!), it seems to skip over what happened to their husbands following Orgreave and leaves a lot to the imagination. I felt this particularly in relation to Jen’s husband – earlier we heard that he was a nice man who wouldn’t have been one to get involved with the brawling and yet, 20 years later they have split up with seemingly little contact with his daughter – I am hoping this is due to the effect that Orgreave had on them mentally, rather than him not being the type of man to help to bring up his daughter. However, I think the writers do this on purpose – whilst there is a political backdrop to this play through national events, it is the local impact that this has on this particular group of women that is the focus. Quite right too –  focus on the women who played such a vital role in keeping this community together –  especially in this year which celebrates 100 since women won the right to vote.

A nice touch was at the interval – soup was served in the Crucible Corner! A much-needed chicken or tomato soup.

After the interval, we are brought right back up to date – the day of the Brexit referendum and modern phones! Some people may choose to listen to Magic FM and music of the 80s and others choose to move with the times, embrace the new technology and the new music! They may not like it, but they move with it. Others stick to the comfort of the past, but that’s not to say the past is right or wrong. Some of the points are quite ironic with hindsight, but we can now see that life hasn’t changed. We are still in a world where many people are forced to use the support and help of foodbanks. Professions we would have seen as “safe” in the 80s are now also impoverished in the same way – is nursing and the NHS the new mining community? Let’s hope not!

The key message that poor Christine delivers to Katie as she has a dawning realisation is to live for each day, grab the opportunities and don’t be like her waiting to win a fight or change the world tomorrow.

I didn’t find Chicken Soup as emotionally moving as Operation Crucible. However, it tells another gritty story and one which should be told. I recommend getting tickets if you can from this almost sold-out run!

Another nice touch is that this play is supporting two of Sheffield’s local foodbanks during its run – Fir Vale Food Bank and the S2 Food Bank Network. Speaking to a representative from Fir Vale at the interval it is very clear that this is not just a fictional story – foodbanks currently serve large parts of our community, not only with food, but with a listening ear, clothing and even haircuts! Please support them and the necessary work that they do in our community.

Overall, an emotional glimpse into recent South Yorkshire history told through the eyes of the backbone of the community – the wives and mothers!  It leaves you wanting to know more about Orgreave and the facts which have left many with the taste of injustice for so long. Get tickets if you can – this run is almost sold out!

What I love most about this play is that it is supporting two of Sheffield’s food bank’s during the run – please help to support the fantastic work they do!

Rating: 4/5

Chicken Soup is at the Crucible Studio Theatre in Sheffield from 9 February to 3 March 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or call the box office on 0114 249 6000.

Crucible Theatre, 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA | 0114 249 6000