The true story of the women who kept the wheels of Barrow’s industry turning during turbulent times is told in Theatre Factory’s latest production.
Follow the Money is a musical comedy which comes to The Kill One on the town’s Duke Street on January 29 and January 30.
It is part of Theatre Factory’s IF! Inclusion Festival – a year-long programme of plays about Barrow life.
Follow the Money is based on the memories of women at the frontline of Barrow’s banks – who stamped the cheques and counted the cash in an institution at the heart of the community.
Written by two former Barrow bank workers – Enid Milligan and Carmen Sayle – the play looks at the great shipyard strike of 1988 when banks offered a lifeline to cash-strapped families.
Enid and Carmen worked as bank cashiers in Duke Street for more than 25 years and witnessed the winds of change in the banking industry and life itself.
Enid said: “We both joined the bank in the late 1970s. At the start it was fun. We knew all the customers by first name. There was always a buzz.
“We felt valued by the community. But as the years went by, banking changed. It went from delivering great service for customers to wanting to make money.”
Carmen added: “The early days were very happy times. We worked hard and played hard. We had the knowledge of who the customers were. The butcher would bring in notes covered in mince. The chip shop owner would bring in cash which was greasy.”
The play also chronicles how banks changed from looking after customers to becoming more target-driven. Follow the Money also looks at gender equality, industrial relations and community.
Carmen said: “People will be quite shocked by the lack of equality in the 1970s. For example, a woman had to leave if they were having a baby – there was no such thing as maternity leave.”
Enid added: “A woman cashier would be sent home for wearing trousers – you wouldn’t believe it now! But despite us being discriminated against on a daily basis, they were largely happy times.”
A key focus of the play is the Barrow shipyard strike of 1988 which lasted 13 weeks. More than 12,000 workers went on strike during a dispute over holiday entitlement.
Enid said: “They were hard times for Barrow people, there were soup kitchens and families really struggled. People would come in wanting short-term loans just to tide them over.
“Our husbands were in the shipyard too. So we were in the same position as everyone else. We knew what it was like to not have the money coming in. There were marches through the town.
Carmen added: “During the strike we were on the personal banker desks.
“We were very lenient in helping people with short-term overdrafts. We didn’t break any rules, but we bypassed some of the senior staff to do this. After the strike an official from the union came to visit to thank us for the help we’d given families.
“We could agree up to £300 and were generous in giving that out. We knew that once the strike was over and wages started coming in, that people would chip away at the debt and pay it back. And they did. Barrow families paid every single penny back.”
Follow the Money is on at The Kill One in a double bill with Life Hacks, about two sisters with very different attitudes to cash. Life Hacks is written by Phill Gregg in conversation with members of the community.
The double bill features sound from South Lakes Rock and Pop choir, a live band and pie and pea supper.
Tickets are free or by donation. Visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/theatre-factory/e-oevlje
IF! Inclusion Festival has been made possible by funding from Arts Council England, Westmorland and Furness Council, John Fisher Foundation, Granada Foundation
