Great Yarmouth fishing industry play inspired by 1960s radio show

Peggy Seeger was "very supportive" when director Jo Edye contacted her about turning the broadcast into a play

Folk singer-songwriter Peggy Seeger has given her blessing to the creation of a play inspired by the history of the East Coast herring fishing industry.

Singing The Fishing is based upon a BBC radio broadcast by Seeger and her late husband Ewan MacColl in 1960.

Writer and director Jo Edye said "she was very supportive" when he asked if he could turn it into a play.

Its main character is based on a fisherman from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, interviewed by Seeger and MacColl.

The play is based on interviews with a Great Yarmouth fisherman in the late 1950s, played by Russell Turner, second left

Mr Edye, from Norwich theatre company Crude Apache, met Seeger by chance at concert for MacColl in 2019 "and she was really lovely".

During lockdown, he contacted her see if she would approve his proposal to adapt the radio broadcast, which she did.

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"In the last 10 years we've been focusing on stories about local and social history," the director said.

Singing The Fishing was originally part of the Radio Ballads broadcasts by the pair, which included interviews with members of the public, a script and songs made by MacColl, direction and musical arrangements by Seeger, and production and editing by Charles Parker.

The series also included episodes on coal miners, roadbuilders and railwaymen.

The play includes all the songs written by Ewan MacColl for the subsequent BBC radio broadcast in 1960

The fishing industry broadcast, also called Singing the Fishing, featured the men and women of the herring fishing fleets of East Anglia and northeast Scotland, including an 80-year-old from Great Yarmouth.

"Our main character is Sam, who went to sea in 1892 when he was seven, and is based on the man they interviewed," said Mr Edye.

"The story goes from then until the 1950s - we're dealing with a period of change, from sail to steam, two world wars and the change in culture and tech in the 20th Century."

A cast of 17 amateur and semi-professional actors are taking part in the play, with songs played by The Punch House Band.

It uses all of MacColl's original songs and is based on Seeger's original musical direction.

Singing the Fishing is at the Maddermarket, Norwich, from 24 to 27 January.