Century-old classic Ragged Trousered Philanthropist comes to Liverpool Everyman

Jun 17 2010 Flintshire Chronicle

CULT novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthrapist’s unique vision of working class life has been brought to life on a Liverpool stage.

Its Irish author Robert Tressel was buried in a pauper’s grave in the city as he died from a lung wasting illness aged just 40 in 1911.

Now celebrated playwright Howard Brenton has created a new adaptation of a story that remains vivid and relevant as when it was written almost a century ago.Š

As well as penning such classics as Romans in Britain, Brassneck and Pravda, throughout his career Brenton has continued to adapt major classic texts, including The Life of Galileo and Goethe’s Faust, for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

It is the story of a group of working men who are joined one day by Owen, a journeyman-prophet with a vision of a just society.

Tressell was a decorator who wrote about his surroundings and fellow workers. Three years after his death, his famous novel was published and over the next 30 years its popularity grew.

The production runs at the Liverpool Everyman from June 17 to July 10.