Northern Soul play staged in Blackburn working men's club

Mick - who wrote the acclaimed play Once Upon a Time in Wigan - has now written a follow-up, Keep On Keepin’ On. But rather than touring traditional theatre venues, the production is being staged in empty shops in Crewe, a library in Blackpool and in Blackburn at St Paul’s Working Men’s Club.

“When I wrote the play I was wondering about where we could put it,” said Bradford-based Mick. “The central character Eugene is struggling to keep his business afloat, it’s the last shop left in the high street. When producer Alex O’Toole read the play she said it felt right to make it a much more immersive experience in a non traditional venue.

Mick Martin (Picture: Kevin Furber)“We did think about staging it in an empty shop but although there are a lot of them around, it’s very difficult to get into them and get permission to put a play on.

“But St Paul’s WMC jumped at the chance and it fits perfectly with the story which is about working class family.”

The main characters from Mick’s first play Eugene and Maxine are central to Keep on Keepin’ On.

“I wrote about their experiences at Wigan Casino in the first play, “ said Mick. “This is not about that.”

Mick, himself a huge Northern Soul fan, said: “I remember sitting at a Skegness Weekender thinking Eugene and Maxine are here somewhere, still on the scene which led me to thinking to what life would have done to them and where would they be.”

In Keep on Keepin’ On, Eugene is still passionate about Northern Soul and runs a struggling electrical shop selling second hand fridges and washing machines. He and Maxine are twice married and divorced and have two children- a gay son who is in trouble with the police and a mixed race daughter.

“There lives are chaotic but full of love and played out to a soundtrack of classic Northern Soul,” said Mick.

“Eugene is so passionate about Northern Soul. He has an almost religious devotion to the scene which lifted him out of workaday drudgery when he was a kid.

“On the dancefloor at Wigan Casino it touched something sublime and he’s always been chasing that ever since. He’s one of those guys for whom change is difficult whereas Maxine is more adaptable and has moved on.”

Mick is quick to stress that Keep on Keepin’ On is not a nostalgia piece.

“I’ve done that with the first play,” he said. “This is very much of today, it’s about now. It’s about those working class towns and all the struggles that people are facing - it’s about a dysfunctional Northern Soul family in a working class town. And if I do say so myself, it’s also very funny.”

At the heart of the play are some classic Northern Soul tunes which provide a soundtrack to the events as they unfold.

“I’ve not put any of the classic Wigan Casino songs in,” said Mick. “These will be more obscure tracks which the connoisseurs will appreciate but which will surprise people who weren’t into the scene. That’s the thing about Northern Soul, there are so many great songs which people just don’t know.”

So what is the appeal of the music which came over to the UK in the Sixties and sparked a whole subculture with all-nighters and its distinctive fashion and dance moves?

“It was music people fell in love with when they were young,” said Mick. “It was also an underground scene, you had to go and find these records; the Northern Soul scene was where the cool kids were.”

Although a massive fan of the music, Mick was too young to be involved in the scene in its heyday.

“I think I wrote Once Upon a Time in Wigan to scratch the itch that I never went to Wigan Casino,” he said.

“In the late 70s I was into the Jam and the Specials and the whole two-Tone thing which continued into the 80s. That’s when I started to listen to Northern Soul but by then all the great clubs had shut.

“Since then I’ve had periods when I’ve been Northern Soul mad and others when I’ve not listened to it for a while. But you always come back, that music never leaves you and that’s what I love about it.”

Unlike Eugene who is an obsessive collector and still a part-time Northern Soul DJ, Mick has never become a fan who spends hours - and a fortune - amassing rare records.

Flyer for Keep On Keepin’ On“I’m a listener not a collector,” he said. “I didn’t realise it until later but I think Eugene in the first play was very autobiographical, there was a lot of me in him. But for Keep on Keepin’ On both Eugene and Maxine have developed lives of their own and it’s been such fun to tell their story.”

With two plays now in the bag is their a third to complete a trilogy based around the Northern Soul theme?

“Oh, I’d love that,” laughed Mick. “It might have to be set after Eugene and Maxine have popped off. Perhaps it could look to the future. How is Siobhan going to deal with her dad’s record collection? Will the next generation take over? It’s an interesting proposition that’s for sure.”

In the meantime Keep on Keepin’ On is in rehearsal and ready to head out on the road.

“I hope, no I think that it’s a story that people will be able to relate to,” said Mick. “It is very much about working class communities and towns today and I hope it starts conversations about how town centres can become cultural places rather than becoming no-go zones.

“Then it’s got the music; there’s no way you won’t like the music - that’s just not possible.”

n Keep on Keepin’ On is at St Paul’s WMC, Blackburn from May 21 to 24. Suitable for audiences 14+ tickets and further information is available from www.keeponkeepinonplay.co.uk