I grew up in the former coal-mining town of Lochgelly, Fife. One of its most famous citizens is the politician Jennie Lee (1904-1988), who was instrumental in founding the Open University in the 1960s, thus making higher education available to a wider spread of people. Ground-breaking schemes ran in the household as she was married to Welsh Labour MP Nye Bevin, the father of the National Health Service. A play about her life has been written and we caught Tomorrow is a New Day at the Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline. The show had premiered the previous week at Lochgelly Centre and my mum sent positive feedback.
The historic Dunfermline theatre (opened in 1937) was more than half full for the first performance of a two-night stand. Three actors played all the required roles. Kit Laveri and Trish Mullin were around three decades apart age-wise, in order to convince as the young firebrand Jennie and her more mature counterpart, who share imaginary encounters during the course of Matthew Knights script. George Docherty took on a multitude of male roles which encompassed a wide array of accents across the class barriers. A miner's daughter, Lee was born in Lochgelly and educated at Beath High School (my alma mater), where she was Dux, an award bestowed upon my mother in 1962. Lee spent part of her childhood living at the Arcade Hotel in Cowdenbeath, an establishment run by her mother Euphemia Greig. It provided lodgings and simple meals for travellers and local workers, as well as hosting touring theatre companies and concert parties who performed at the nearby Arcade Theatre. The derelict remains of the latter inspired the stage set for tonight's production. Lee inherited her father's socialist principles as a teenager. James Lee chaired the West Fife branch of the Independent Labour Party. Gaining a place at Edinburgh University, where she studied law and education (half her fees being met by the Carnegie Trust Fund), Lee worked as a teacher in Fife before standing as a Labour Party candidate for the North Lanarkshire by-election in 1929. She was duly elected at the age of 24 - the youngest ever female MP. Only women aged 30 and above could actually vote at the time! Lee lost her seat in the 1931 General Election and married Nye Bevan two years later - a former miner who was a tremendously popular Welsh Labour MP, who held the Ebbw Vale constituency from 1929 until his death from cancer in 1960, aged 62. The play covered all the significant events of Lee's personal and political life, against the backdrop of national and world events. George Docherty was called upon to portray many figures - including Winston Churchill. I awarded the overall production a solid 8/10. Certainly worth seeing, especially if you have a strong interest in political and/or Fife history. The ticket price of £14 was very reasonable.
The story also touched upon the theme of people leaving their socialist ideals behind once major career success has been achieved. While it's true that Jennie Lee rose from humble beginnings to enjoy an affluent lifestyle, she spent many years campaigning for a fairer society. After the war, she stormed back into parliament, holding the Cannock seat in Staffordshire from 1945 to 1970. Lee was appointed as Minister for the Arts in 1964, the first incumbent of the post. This role led directly to her crowning glory, the formation of the Open University. It was intended as a correspondence institution, reaching out to those who had been denied the opportunity to study. Broadcasting media would also be used to deliver courses. Granted its Royal Charter in 1969, the first batch of students signed up the following year. More than two million people have achieved their learning goals with the OU since its inception and there are currently around 200,00 enrolled, including 8000 from overseas. The university is also the biggest provider of education to people with disabilities. The open admissions policy allows many people to achieve ambitions they may not have had the opportunity to fulfil elsewhere. Following the election defeat in 1970, Lee was made Baroness of Asheridge. Two Open University buildings bear her name, as does the public library in her native Lochgelly. I remember learning about Jennie Lee at primary school but was too young to grasp the true significance of her achievements. Tonight's play helped solidify my knowledge.
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