TOWNSEND Productions presents the true story of one of Britain’s most turbulent industrial battles, the 1972 Builders’ Strike, at Harrogate Theatre tonight.

The events surrounding the strike continue to make headlines and, 42 years on, the high-profile Shrewsbury 24 Campaign, led by picket-turned-actor Ricky Tomlinson, is still seeking to overturn the prosecution of the 24 building worker pickets.

Written by actor Neil Gore, United We Stand tells the story behind the dispute, complemented by popular and political songs arranged by folk musician John Kirkpatrick and Tomlinson’s poems from his time in prison.

Gore seeks to dispel the myth, put about at the time, that the pickets were criminally violent rather than ordinary working men seeking a better life for themselves and their fellow workers.

“We’re aiming to raise awareness of the determination and courage of those who sacrificed their freedom, reputations and opportunities in seeking better conditions for their fellow workers, and to focus sharply on the political nature of the case brought against them – the ‘real conspiracy’ initiated and devised by Government, big business and the law,” says Gore, who is touring with fellow actor William Fox.

Tomlinson is delighted that United We Stand is putting the Shrewsbury 24 Campaign in the spotlight. “It is 41 years since I, together with Des Warren and John McKinsie Jones, were charged with conspiracy and jailed,” he says.

“We were charged with conspiracy, but we believe the real conspiracy was between the Government, the building contractors and the judiciary. They wanted the prison sentences to act as a deterrent, to prevent workers from taking strike action.”

The production’s roots date back to September 2013 when Gore first approached the Shrewsbury 24 Campaign to see if the campaigners were interested in his writing a play about them. “It took a while because it was a sensitive issue, as many of the protagonists are still alive, but they then said ‘yes’ as they could see the benefit of further publicity and said ‘go ahead’,” recalls Neil.

His research included attending a talk by Tomlinson in Liverpool as well as contacting the campaigners. “But on the whole I was pretty much left to my own devices to write it, and we first presented a work in progress with John Kirkpatrick in Liverpool, where the campaign is based,” he says.

“We got feedback from the campaigners and took it from there, so there’s trust there, but if they had any doubts about what we were doing, the audience reaction has been very supportive.”

Gore stresses that United We Stand is not an earnest work. “People connect much more with the play’s message, the gravitas within it, if they’re allowed to be drawn into it with humour and a challenging theatrical style,” he reasons. “So we use puppets in the same way we ridiculed the Government in The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist.”

United We Stand, Harrogate Theatre, tonight, 7.30pm; The Carriageworks, Leeds, March 31, 7.30pm. Box office: Harrogate, 01423 502116; Leeds, 0113 224 3801.