Ewan MacColl’s unpublished play to be staged in Salford

The Salford Arts Theatre will stage a rare production of ‘Landscape with Chimneys’, an unpublished play written in 1949 by singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl. The performance, scheduled for September 23-27, coincides with the 50th anniversary of the theatre and the centenary of Salford’s status as a city.

MacColl, the creator of the famous song ‘Dirty Old Town’, wrote the play to reflect the working-class experiences of his home city. While the play toured Welsh mining towns in 1951, it was never formally published and has seldom been performed. This revival, directed by Liam Allen, is expected to feature the original five-verse version of ‘Dirty Old Town’, which differs from the standard four-verse version typically heard.

The production aims to capture the contemporary resonance of MacColl’s themes, such as housing and financial pressures, which are reflected in the play’s use of the phrase ‘cost of living’.