CityLife

Gang's all here for Victorian tale - Angels with Manky Faces

Drummer Mike Joyce gets into character

ANGELS With Manky Faces – the fourth production to be seen at the Library Theatre from leading community theatre group MaD, is the company's most ambitious project to date.

Inspired by writer and Liverpool University academic Andrew Davies’ book The Gangs of Manchester, Angels With Manky Faces has boasts a filmic backdrop capturing the bustle of Manchester’s Victorian slums, shot by Paul Cliff, MaD’s resident film-maker, complemented by a soundtrack of classic Madchester music.

A host of Madchester music personalities, including Mike Joyce of The Smiths and Clint Boon of the Inspiral Carpets, together with hotly-tipped band Twisted Wheel, make filmed cameo appearances.

Local favourite actor John Henshaw also appears, as does Coronation Street’s actor Graeme Hawley, who plays John Stape in the soap. 

The play tells the strange and bloody story of the Scuttlers – regarded as Britain’s first youth cult – who roamed the sleazy gin joints and gritty Manchester streets in the 1890s.

Jimmy Johnson is the leader of scuttling gang the Bengal Tigers.

Leading a life of gratuitous violence and casual sex, Jimmy is a lucky lad. But when a sultry Irish beauty arrives at his favourite brothel, trouble breaks out between the sheets and in the streets.

Director Rob Lees met author Andrew Davies before the book had even been published.

“He told me ‘I’ve seen some things you’ve done and I like MaD’s style. Have a look at this book’ – which was still in manuscript form at the time – ‘and do what you like with it’. So we’ve taken bit of stories, names and stuff like that from all the information in Andrew’s book and given it a narrative.

Nothing's changed

“The first thing that I thought when I read it was that, even though it’s set a 100-odd years ago in Manchester, nothing’s changed.

"These gangs of lads used to go round in certain uniforms, with belts and buckles and fight each other over territory. It’s just like gangs of youths do now.

“So we’ve made the language contemporary and that led us to thinking about using contemporary Mancunian music in it.

“We’ve been experimenting with film for a while and this time we’ve gone to town with it – I think it’s about 20-30 per cent of the play, which is hung together by six almost-music-videos, set in Victorian times but using more contemporary Manchester music, like New Order’s Blue Monday.

“There’s a scene in a fairground, for instance, set to Rusholme Ruffians and Martin Coogan from the Mock Turtles has recorded a version of Dirty Old Town for us.

"We went filming for that in Ancoats and the fire brigade made rain for us! Clint Boon re-recorded This is How It Feels To Be Lonely using a proper barrel-organ!

“We honestly all think that this is the best thing we’ve ever done, that we’ve really pushed the envelope this time,” he enthuses.

And the ticket-buying public have certainly greeted it with just as much enthusiasm. Several performances have had to be added at the Library Theatre and they’re still all sold out.

“We don’t’ want to be thought of as ‘just’ a community theatre company,” says Rob.

“We want to be thought of as a theatre company that involves both young and old people from the community and I just think this play could be really something.”

Angels with Manky Faces runs at the Library Theatre from Wednesday, August 19 to Saturday, August 22. For tickets, call 0161 236 7110.