The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

Thursday 21st – Saturday 23rd November 2024

Merlin Theatre, Frome

In November 2024, Frome Drama brought to life Robert Tressell’s 1914 classic of working class literature,The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist, in a critically acclaimed stage adaptation by Stephen Lowe.

The story features a group of painters and decorators as they renovate a townhouse, and their struggle for survival in a complacent and stagnating Edwardian England. It was one of the first truly imaginative portrayals of life written from a working class perspective, and through humour and sharply observed characterisations, provides a witty and much quoted defence of socialist ideas.

Stephen Lowe’s 1983 vivid adaptation packs political conjuring tricks alongside live music and song, to breathe life into the story and the many familiar and infamous characters from the book.

Passionate, highly entertaining and gloriously funny, this story laid bare the many social injustices perpetrated on these men, whilst capturing their individual characters with touching truth to life. Described by George Orwell as “a book everyone should read”.