Arcola Theatre and Steven Berkoff presents

They Shall Not Pass: The Battle of Cable Street

Written and performed by Steven Berkoff

Music by Mark Glentworth

They Shall Not Pass: The Battle of Cable Street is now sold out. If you would like tickets, you can:
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October, 1936. Three thousand fascists, led by Oswald Mosley, march on Cable Street in the heart of the Jewish East End. Six thousand Metropolitan Police officers are on hand to defend them. But London’s socialists, trade unionists, immigrants and dock workers are ready to meet the fascists – and their message is clear and united: “They shall not pass.”

Steven Berkoff was born the year after the Battle of Cable Street in nearby Stepney. In 1975, his verse play East established him as one of the most distinctive and original East End voices. Now he dramatises this landmark event in East End history on its 83rd anniversary.

Drawing on archival records and his own rich personal history, Berkoff performs a new verse work, with live music from long-time collaborator Mark Glentworth. Then he discusses the colossal impact of the Battle of Cable Street, and its lasting significance at a time of creeping threats from the far-right.

Don’t miss this special, one-off event – a celebration of unity, community and defiance.

 

Watch Steven Berkoff’s short documentary film about the Battle of Cable Street »


“There is no one like Berkoff and there'll never be another”Daily Mail