A play about the election of the borough’s most famous MP has enjoyed a run of community performances.
Children and young adults from Newham played most of the roles in A Splotch of Red: Keir Hardie in West Ham – which looks at the area’s rich socialist history.
They were picked from schools and clubs across Newham to star in the play and given a unique opportunity to work with professionals.
“It’s an experience that not many people get,” Abubacarr Bah, 13, who plays three roles in the show, said.
“I’m thankful to be here – it’s been nice to make new friends.”
On the play’s topic – the election of the first Labour MP, Keir Hardie, in West Ham in 1892 – Abubaccar said he had learned a lot.
“We should be proud of Keir Hardie,” the Kingsford Community School pupil, who lives in North Woolwich, said.
“If he didn’t surface, who knows where we would be? Work would still be painstaking.”
For writer James Kenworth, who lives in Beckton, the chance to perform in the likes of East Ham Library – in Barking Road – was a “wonderful” feature.
“I get a thrill doing it in a library,” Mr Kenworth, who also wrote Revolution Farm, said.
“They are definitely places Keir Hardie would have wanted to see defended today.”
He added: “Not to go all class war, but there’s a social aspect in this because not many kids who aren’t from affluent backgrounds get this kind of opportunity.”
In many cases, Mr Kenworth said, the children were being told about Keir Hardie for the first time – and learning about the history of working conditions in Newham.
For Demy Joseph, 20, the play – which was directed by James Martin Charlton – is his first experience of acting.
“This is helping me improve my life,” Demy, who lives in Victoria Street in Stratford, said.
“I’m not working now because my daughter Inayah was born 12 days ago – but I would like to write.”
He added: “I didn’t know all this stuff about Hardie – how he basically created the Labour Party.
“It’s not as bad now, obviously, but it’s still similar – it’s hard to find a job worth doing.”
The performances of A Splotch of Red were free to all Newham residents thanks to the support of the London Borough of Newham
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