REVIEW: Dolly Peel – Rebel on the Tyne at South Shields Customs House

Dolly Peel – Rebel on the Tyne 

South Shields The Customs House

Until Saturday 20 September 2025

In the third annual presentation from their First Play Club, The Customs House turns a spotlight onto legendary South Shields character, Dolly Peel. Four short plays by different writers, supported by original songs, give a account of her life and tell stories inspired by her legacy. It makes for an intriguing evening of contrasts, vigorously performed by a talented cast.

Immortalised by a statue in the town, Dolly Peel was a strong, resourceful character known for her courage and wit. A fishwife by day and a smuggler by night, she was a fierce defender of local men against the naval press gangs that kidnapped them to serve in the navy during the Napoleonic wars. When she could not prevent her husband and son from being taken, she stowed away on their ship, becoming a nurse and ultimately winning their freedom. In addition, she was known for writing verse and entertaining shoppers with her lively banter.

Unsurprisingly, this multi-faceted woman and her eventful life provide a rich vein for the four playwrights to mine, and each one takes a very different approach.

The first piece is The Smuggler’s Daughter by Emma Zadow, set in 2045. A 17-year-old Dolly, inspired by her namesake’s courage, is using illegal broadcasting to fight against the gentrification of the town and the demolition of the last council estate in South Shields. When a local policeman comes to their flat, her mother takes the blame and gives the hapless man more than he bargained for, as Dolly mobilises the local population into a united protest.

Bright and engaging, with a fierce energy, Helen Chong makes her Dolly a worthy inheritor of her namesake’s legacy and Emma Crowley-Bennett gives her mother a relatable disillusioned wisdom. It makes a rousing curtain raiser, with Paige Temperley’s music providing the climax.

Cleaning Up by John Dawson depicts the way a young man, overprotected by his mother, becomes vulnerable to the misogynist and sexist narratives of right-wing influencers. Gaz Thompson gives a believable portrayal of the troubled teenager, gradually peeling back the layers of his anger. Stephanie Butson is sincere as his anxious mother, trying to reach out to the boy he was with remembered tales of Dolly Peel and her verses. This is a good attempt at analysing an important subject, understandably a difficult watch, though it feels like it could be refined further.

Tom Kelly’s Finding Dolly comes next, with a South Shields couple at a crossroads in their lives, trying to find a way forward. The wife uses Dolly’s story to encourage her husband, an earnest but dithering Mark Akinfolarin, to stop complaining and take action. Meanwhile, the three other actors all embody Dolly and portray different elements of her remarkable story. It is an entertaining piece, full of Kelly’s characteristic empathy and good nature.

Janet Plater’s Dolly Peel of Shadwell Street depicts an imagined incident in Dolly’s life as she combines her hustling with fixing up a job for a friend’s husband, through her acquaintanceship with the town’s MP. This piece makes a virtue of necessity, drawing humour from Mark Akinfolarin’s quick changes to portray multiple characters. This is deftly handled, in line with Georgie Rankcom’s imaginative and confident direction throughout.

After the various perspectives applied to Dolly so far, it is comforting to end with a simple narrative depiction of her in her own time, and another lively song provides a stirring curtain call.

Using a central character is a clever way to bring a kind of unity to an evening of short plays. This is further aided by the songs and the director’s consistent approach. The evening’s 90 minutes, with no interval, passed quickly and who can say fairer than that?

Review: Jonathan Cash

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