Alphabetti Theatre Newcastle – Thursday 30th October 2025
Reviewed by Sandra Little
4****
Grimm is a play set against the backdrop of the demise of the fishing industry in 1970s Grimsby as a result of the “cod war.” This was a long running and bitter dispute about fishing quotas and exclusions for British fishing boats around Icelandic waters. The play is set in the Ship Inn in Grimsby and begins with a rowdy party when several fishermen return home from a fishing trip to Iceland. The landlady Esther (played by Sophie Clay) presents as a very strong woman with a huge personality and has the job of maintaining some semblance of order in her pub. Esther is helped with the running of the pub by a young barmaid Ivy, played by Evangeline Henderson. Evangeline Henderson also wrote this play.
As the story unfolds we learn that Esther’s marriage to fisherman Paddy (Marc Graham) is not a very happy relationship, but in contrast our young barmaid Ivy adores her fisherman boyfriend Jim (Jake Cooke) and shares a love poem she has written about him. We learn that Ivy is offered a place at Manchester University to study English, however boyfriend Jim doesn’t have the same aspirations for Ivy and sees her as his stay at home wife, caring for their children while he is away at sea. This disagreement is further exacerbated when Ivy tries to persuade Jim to leave fishing and pursue his artistic talents.
As the story unfolds it becomes clear that Ivy is pregnant so her plans for university are shattered; meanwhile there are fights in the bar with an Icelandic fisherman Georg ( played by Adam Perrott) and a further fight erupts when Esther is accused of flirting with Roger (Chris Finn).
The final part of this story involves Esther trying (and failing) to persuade Ivy not to marry Jim. However a wedding at The Ship Inn is hastily arranged for Ivy and Jim but Esther does not attend.
Although there were some aspects of this play I did enjoy, it didn’t quite hit the spot for me. I found the exploration of the role of women in 1970s Grimsby interesting and references to the obstacles to broadening opportunities for working class men and women to improve life chances was fascinating. We had Ivy who didn’t go to university, Jim who didn’t develop his artistic talents because traditionally fishing was what he was expected to do and Alan (Adam Perrott) who didn’t take exams to allow him to be a skipper.
I would have preferred the devastating impact of the demise of the fishing industry in Grimsby to have been explored further and I felt that this was more a play about the role of working class women in 1970s Grimsby with the experiences of the fisherman as a backdrop to their story. Although the scenes involving drunkenness, fighting, shouting and swearing were probably a true reflection of 1970s Grimsby, I still think that there was too much emphasis on this and it tended to lose its effectiveness.
On a more positive note I did enjoy the backing tracks from the jukebox and the role that the women played in this story.