27-03-2025
Mick Martin's feel-good Northern Soul show coming to Blackburn club
A new feel-good play is set to tour three non-theatre spaces in "Northern Soul strongholds," including Blackburn.
Keep On Keepin' On, created by Bradford-based writer Mick Martin and from theatre company Northern Soul Productions, aims to connect independent retailers with local authorities and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to spark conversations.
The play highlights the challenges faced by independent retailers through the story of a working-class family.
The production hopes to combine entertainment with a mission to reinvigorate the high street and nighttime economies.
The high-energy comedy is a sequel to Mr Martin's 2003 play, Once Upon a Time in Wigan.
It follows his teenage dreamers, now middle-aged, as they juggle co-parenting, a failing Northern Soul-themed discount shop, and a risky scheme.
Northern Soul Productions will collaborate with local partners to deliver outreach and workshops to connect audiences with local BIDs and give retailers a platform to voice their needs to local authorities.
The hope is that these discussions will inform a business support programme to rejuvenate the high street.
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Mr Martin said: "Keep On Keepin' On is about the modern-day Northern Soul scene and the changing faces of the towns that spawned it.
"It's a play about now, family, and love, about people struggling to keep it together in these dark and straitened times at the working-class coalface of dysfunctional northern Britain.
"That's why we want to bring it to high street spaces rather than traditional theatre venues.
"We're hoping that, in each town on our tour, the play helps to start conversations with their communities and bring new audiences to the theatre and the high street."
The play will be performed at St Paul's Working Men's Club in Blackburn from May 21 to 24, commencing at 7pm each night.
Tickets are £16, or £12 for concessions.
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