On 10th November a group of 6th Years and 4th Years went on a trip to see the play ‘Strike’ at the Axis in Ballymun. I thoroughly enjoyed the play. Not only did the actors put on an amazing performance, they also opened my eyes to what ‘Apartheid’ really was. The play was about the Dunnes Stores strike that started in 1984 and ended in 1987. A small group of workers from Dunnes on Henry St took a stand against apartheid by refusing to sell grapefruit from South Africa in the store.
When one of the women was suspended for refusing to sell South African produce, her friends working in the store went out on strike with her. I thought that the actors played their characters very well and you could sense their passion about the message in the play. Throughout the play there were images on a screen in the background - images of the strike and of apartheid in South Africa. This was a really clever way inform the audience about what was actually happening at the time. I loved the costumes in the play. The girls wore typical clothes from the 80s like leg warmers. The music was brilliant - a mixture of 80s tunes and freedom music from South Africa. Although the play’s central message was very serious, the girls’ banter with each other kept the mood light-hearted and had the audience laughing.
At the end of the play we met a striker from the original protest. We asked her questions about her experiences and how the strike affected her life. It was the perfect way to end an excellent night out. I would recommend this play to anyone
By Eimear O'Toole 6E
