BWW Interviews: PINS AND NEEDLES's Adam Walker

Hi Adam, and welcome to BWW:UK! Tell us about the show.

The show is called Pins and Needles as it was originally performed by the International Ladies
Garment Workers Union. It's made up of lots of stand alone songs and sketches that satirize
various political and social subjects and taboos. Although it was written in the 1930s and the
sketches are about issues from that period I was shocked at how relevant these issues are today
It comments on everything from fascist dictators to tax evaders to advertising pressure and
unemployed graduates.

Your producer tells me this is a "very special piece" - would you agree?

Yes, the piece itself has an amazing history: written for union members to perform in their own
theatre to express all the problems that they were facing in a light-hearted but hard-hitting manner. It became so popular that they ended up giving up their jobs to become full-time actors! Our revival is also special as we get the advantage of marrying the original material with modern references and styling. The fact that there are only nine of us mean it's a marathon for everyone each night, but the amazing friendship between the cast makes it extremely enjoyable and I'm sure this is apparent to the audience too.

Adam, what's your role like?

The great thing about having a nine-person cast covering eighteen sketches is that we all get to
play different characters throughout. In one performance I get to play any number of people from
a striker to an income tax evader to Hitler! Each one has a different challenge but the main thing is
that all these types of people are around us today, just with different names and the audience can
definitely see who we are poking fun at or exposing.

It's pretty much unknown in the UK - why did it go AWOL, and why revive it now?

As I've said earlier, it shocked me how relevant these sketches and songs are to today's society
still. It seems the perfect time to revive it as each night there's this feeling that the audience gets
what we are presenting in each sketch and agrees with the sentiments which is something that
every musical strives for. I don't know why it disappeared for so long, maybe because in the people
haven't been this politically charged about so many issues and government problems since the
depression of the 30s but I'm glad it is back and I'm so happy to have been a part of it.

Pins and Needles is playing the c*ckTavern Theatre, Kilburn, now!

 

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