Chopped Liver and Unions tells the story of workers’ activist and trades unionist Sara Wesker, now largely lost to the footnotes of twentieth century history, but in her time a noted crusader for equal rights and social reform.
A century on, and the themes still have strong resonance
Born into the East End of London in 1901, this firebrand campaigner is brought to life in an appealing performance by Lottie Walker; with support from James Hall on a piano which both signposts major events in her life and echoes of the solidarity songs of the picket line.
A century on from the events recounted, and the themes still have strong resonance: strikes, equal pay for women, the value of immigration, the audacity of the far-right. This leads us to an uneasy sort of reassurance that the more our battles have changed, the more they have stayed the same: and an inevitable frustration that despite the very best efforts of some of the fiercest radicals of the time… not enough has improved for the (wo)man in the street.
Wesker’s charm endeared her to all who met her. A friendly and accomplished machinist on the shop floor, she was also an intelligent and impassioned speaker whose energised oratory mesmerised her seasoned Communist comrades, and a community stalwart whose ability to converse with the older Jewish workers in their Yiddish mother tongue helped to engage a wider demographic in the cause. Her skills in militancy and negotiation led to several successful walkouts, and she became something of a celebrity in the East End throughout the 1920s and 30s.
Lottie Walker guides us through Wesker’s life and works: the strikes, a doomed relationship with Union activist Mick Mindel, and her presence at the Battle of Cable Street. Indeed, so intoxicating was her personality that her nephew Arnold would later commit Sara to literary as well as political history as one of the lead characters in his 1956 play Chicken Soup with Barley. The play chronicles those pivotal moments at Cable Street, in which East London rejected Fascism: and looking back, there seems to be an inevitability that it premiered the very year in which angry young voices began to reshape British theatre on behalf of the working man.
This is a lovely and well-researched little piece, whose central message is delivered with a brisk cheeriness and good humour which gives a good insight into the sort of woman Sara was, and why it is important we revisit her contributions to society.
