AN award-winning play which chronicles the Thatcher-era heroin epidemic is coming to Oldham for the first time.
A rehearsed reading of The Political History of Smack and Crack will take place at Oldham Library.
The story, which has been compared to Trainspotting, is based on the own experiences of Manchester-based writer Ed Edwards in jail and rehab.
It follows the lives of lovers Mandy and Neil, whose paths first cross as children on the night of the Moss Side riots of 1981.
They share some laughs, an occasional bed and finally their love as they seek to maintain a fragile recovery against the drug epidemic that smashes the inner-city communities at the height of Thatcherism – under the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
It will be performed as a rehearsed reading by Eve Steele, who plays Anne Malone in ITV soap Coronation Street, and William Fox – two actors with close connections to the roles – both having toured nationally in the show since 2020.
The performance will be followed by a Q&A session with the writer and actors.
It’s part of Recoverist Month, which uses the arts to celebrate people in recovery from substance use in Greater Manchester and was established last year by recovery arts organisation Portraits of Recovery.
The rehearsed reading of The Political History of Smack and Crack is at the Oldham Library performance space on Greaves Street on Wednesday, September 18, from 6pm to 7.30pm.
Tickets are pay what you can from £1.50 to £10 and can be bought online by clicking here.