Overview

'They say work harder, strive harder. The machine strives for nothing. The loom does the work twice as fast and half as well. And they'll settle for that. They'll settle for that.' Machines can make our work easier. They can also make it vanish overnight. Joe Ward Munrow's play The Legend of Ned Ludd weaves together stories from around the world and takes us on a whirlwind global commute, from the Luddites' nineteenth-century war against new technology through to London, Liverpool, Lagos and beyond... But we're all at the mercy of The Machine. And, in this powerful exploration of work, automation and capitalism, The Machine selects the scenes for each performance, resulting in 256 possible versions of the play, spun from all the stories included in this published edition. It premiered at the Liverpool Everyman in 2024, directed by Jude Christian. 'Thrillingly audacious... an arresting drama of man, machine and revolution... each scene change is like a magic trick... gradually unfurling profound observations' — Financial Times

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9781839043208

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Reviews

'Thrillingly audacious... an arresting drama of man, machine and revolution... each scene change is like a magic trick... gradually unfurling profound observations' * Financial Times * 'An unpredictable and novel theatrical experience... thought-provoking and engaging... quietly devastating' * The Stage * 'Ambitious and witty' * Indiependent *

'Thrillingly audacious... an arresting drama of man, machine and revolution... each scene change is like a magic trick... gradually unfurling profound observations' * Financial Times *

Author Information

Joe Ward Munrow is a playwright from Deptford, south-east London, who now lives in Liverpool. His plays include: The Legend of Ned Ludd (Liverpool Everyman, 2024); Screaming Heart, winner of the Mercury Weinberger Playwriting Prize; Blue (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Gate Theatre, London); Held (Liverpool Playhouse Studio, 2012; shortlisted for Royal National Theatre Playwright's Award); The Laundry (Brockley Jack, 2011; winner of the Brockley Jack's Write Now Award and the Commended Prize in BBC's Alfred Bradley Bursary Award 2011). ​His radio plays include The Busker (BBC Radio 4, 2016; selected for BBC Radio 4's Pick of the Week).

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