First Play Club 2025
🎭 Preview: Dolly Peel – Rebel on the Tyne
South Shields The Customs House
📅 Wednesday 17 – Saturday 20 September 2025
The fierce spirit of South Tyneside returns to the stage this September as Dolly Peel – Rebel on the Tyne takes over The Customs House. A bold, contemporary celebration of one of the region’s most iconic rebels, this unique production offers four new short plays — each reimagining the life and legacy of South Shields’ own Dolly Peel.
Smuggler, healer, protector, storyteller — Dolly was a woman who defied the rules and protected her own. Now, four North East writers bring her defiance, resilience and wit to life through dramatic storytelling and original live music in a production developed as part of First Play Club 2025, now in its third successful year.
This year’s show promises a compelling blend of regional history, new writing, and community spirit, with each piece offering a different lens on Dolly’s life — both past and future.
🔹 The Plays:
🧼 Cleaning Up by John Dawson
A gripping domestic drama exploring love, radicalisation, and maternal fear. A mother faces the unimaginable when she realises her son may no longer be safe to love. What do you do when your child starts to disappear into an ideology you don’t recognise?
📚 Finding Dolly by Tom Kelly
Contemporary, funny and poignant. As Rachel researches Dolly Peel for her MA, her relationship with partner Steve begins to unravel at the feet of Dolly’s statue. A heartfelt reflection on partnership, place, and identity in the modern North East.
🐟 Dolly Peel of Shadwell Street by Janet Plater
Back to 1837: a lively market scene where Dolly charms, schemes and sings her way through the streets of South Shields. But all is not what it seems. With a flask of contraband rum and a sharp tongue, Dolly navigates power and survival with cunning and charm.
📻 The Smuggler’s Daughter by Emma Zadow
Set in a speculative near future, 17-year-old Dolly becomes a voice of resistance — broadcasting banned stories and songs in a society that’s erasing working-class heritage. A bold, poetic tribute to memory, voice, and identity.
Expect grit, wit, and live music — from bawdy ballads to future folk — all stitched together to celebrate Dolly’s revolutionary heart. Whether you're a history buff, a South Tyneside local, or simply love bold new writing, Dolly Peel – Rebel on the Tyne is a rich tapestry of local pride and theatrical daring.
Tickets:
Dolly Peel – Rebel on the Tyne at South Shields The Customs House
📅 Wednesday 17 – Saturday 20 September 2025
🎟️ Tickets from £10
📍 The Customs House, Mill Dam, South Shields
🔗 Book now
Don’t miss this inventive, moving celebration of a woman who refused to be forgotten — and a region that still tells her story.
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