Our arts festival is now in full swing and yesterday one of the events caught perfectly the guiding principle of “a community Arts Festival for and by Chorlton people”.
And in the words of Jules Gibb the project director "This play has been created today in the true spirit of the Arts Festival- by forming an inclusive community of local people.
The participants have never worked together before and have created this piece in an afternoon.
They tell an important story.
Ada Nield Chew was a self-educated young factory girl when she took on the patriarchy and capitalism single handedly.
She went on to become an important campaigner for women’s rights, suffrage and socialism.
She started her activism in Crewe and after her marriage lived in various addresses in the northwest.
From her address in Chorlton she continued her work unionising and organising women workers everywhere along with her daughter Doris."
And the rest was a rewarding day for the actors and an equally enjoyable night for the audience.
Which is all I have to say other than I am glad I went and include these sleeve notes from Jules on Ada Chew,who "was a Staffordshire lass and travelled on the first Clarion Van which left in the 1890’s from Chester and travelled across the north and Scotland speaking to women about the ILP and union membership.
The Vans had three feminist activists on board. On the first one was Sarah Reddish and Caroline Martin as well as Ada.
The Vans were horse drawn and George Chew was the driver. He was from Rochdale but an active ILP member. After their marriage they settled in Rochdale.
Ada continued her activism from there and travelled with her baby daughter all over the country. The family definitely lived at the Chorlton address according to Doris Nield Chew the daughter.
She published a book of her mother’s writings".
Location; Chorlton Arts Festival
Pictures; “A Play In A Day”, 2026 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
*Chorlton Arts Festival, https://chorltonartsfestival.org/
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