Made in Dagenham musical photoshoot at Ipswich dealership

This summer, The Riverside Musical Theatre Company will be bringing Made in Dagenham the Musical to Woodbridge.

Made in Dagenham tells the real-life story of the 1968 sewing machinists strike at the Ford factory in Dagenham, Essex, the strike that was influential in the passing of the Equal Pay Act of 1970. 

The musical follows Rita O’Grady, who encourages the women of the Ford factory to walk out after they are re-classified as unskilled workers, while their male counterparts see their wages increase. 

The women’s grievances over their worker status turn into a fight for equal pay and they vote unanimously to strike and encourage the women at the Liverpool factory to join them and strike also. 

Tickets go on sale on March 4, with the show taking place in June.

Helping to promote the show was Ford dealership John Grose who welcomed the cast to its Ipswich branch for an all-access photo shoot, providing the perfect backdrop to promote their show.

According to director and choreographer Samantha De Vita, Made in Dagenham “tells the story through music of a strike that changed the course of history with the passing of a law that makes it illegal to have separate pay scales for men and women based on their sex”.

A manager at John Grose said it was a pleasure to help the theatre company promote their show. Image: Woody of Rainywood Photography (Image: Woody of Rainywood Photography)

Matthew Wright, group Ford new car sales manager, said: ‘It was an honour to be able to support the cast with them being able to use our Ford dealership facilities to promote their show.

"For those who are not aware of the impact this story tells regarding the cause for women’s rights around the world, then it’s worth going to see!’

The theatre company continues to raise money for local charities and is proud to have donated more than £20,000 to date.