We Will Be Free! The Tolpuddle Martyrs Story

At a time of protests against austerity measures and financial inequality, the history of the Tolpuddle Martyrs strikes a chord – as does this new staging of the story. Mixing mummers plays with folk songs, it's a charming, family-friendly piece that presents an important bit of history inventively and enjoyably.

With minimal props and quick costume changes, Elizabeth Eves and Neil Gore (also on writing duties) bring to life Betsy Loveless and her labourer husband, George – one of six men arrested in 1837 in Tolpuddle, Dorset, for forming a union to raise their daily wage from a back-breakingly pitiful eight shillings. It would be three years before Betsy saw George again.

Gore and Eves (who particularly shines) have a great rapport with each other and the audience as they gleefully act out a parade of colourful characters, from evil landowners to blustering judges. The stage is a big dressing-up box and the sense of fun is infectious.

Louise Townsend and Richard Stone's production is full of nice historical touches, from the opening mummers play of St George killing the dragon to the Chartrist lyrics woven into John Kirkpatrick's rearrangements of existing hymns. The sneaky legal finagling behind the men's arrest is explained well through rhyming verse.

The pace slackens during George's trial as the legalese weighs down the show's otherwise light touch and the final scenes speed choppily through time. But these are minor grumbles about a production that succeeds in being educational, heartwarming and silly in just the right places.