Beryl (Modern Plays)

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You can take it easy, pootle, coffee and cake, there’s no pressure. For me it reminds me of being a kid. It reminds me of going out on my bike, all day, getting lost, cycling for miles and then going ‘do you know where we are?’ I could relate to Beryl, I’m no where near as dedicated to my profession as Beryl was to cycling but as a woman, I could relate to how much more you have to train at something and how difficult it is for a woman because of all the other commitments in life, it’s doubly hard. And the criticism you can get for being that focused and single-minded about something.”

Peake is a feminist and socialist. She was active in communist organisations during her youth and a member of the Communist Party of Britain. [42] In January 2014 Peake won the first Bolton Socialist Club Outstanding Contribution to Socialism Award for using her work to oppose the government's "crippling austerity measures". [43] Gardner, Lyn (12 May 2007). "Leaves of Glass". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 . Retrieved 8 April 2015.

The play is a love story about Beryl and the man behind her, her husband Charlie. “They had such a unique dynamic,” said Maxine “even for today, that a man would support you and say 'you will become my focus, your sport, your talent, and I will support you all the way'. I still think that’s quite unusual." Beryl Burton was an English racing cyclist and one of Britain's greatest ever athletes during the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. She dominated women's cycle racing in the UK, Best British all rounder for 25 successive years and twice world competition holder at 3000 metres. Now a docudrama has been written about her for Radio Four by the actress Maxine Peake, it is the first drama that Maxine has written and she also plays the character of Beryl. It is called "Beryl: A Love Story on two Wheels" and will be on Radio Four on Tuesday, 27th November at 2.15pm. Maxine is joined by Charlie Burton, Beryl's husband, and they talk about the life of this great cyclist and the new docudrama. Eccleston Woos Miss Julie at Haymarket". WhatsOnStage.com. 19 January 2000. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012 . Retrieved 5 March 2012.

In April 2017 Peake endorsed Labour Party leader Corbyn in the 2017 general election. She said: "I am a Corbyn supporter. My mind boggles why people treat him like the anti-Christ, but it goes to show people are a lot more right-wing than they like to believe." [48] In November 2019, along with other public figures, Peake signed a letter supporting Corbyn, describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world", and endorsed him in the 2019 general election. [49] Wilkinson, Michael (1 February 2016). "Celebrities to tour Britain in 'Jeremy Corbyn For Prime Minister' musical show". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016 . Retrieved 15 July 2017. Yet Peake's play, commissioned as part of the Yorkshire festival accompanying the Tour de France, indicates that none of this ought to have happened. A childhood bout of rheumatic fever left Burton with a weakened heart, meaning she was under strict medical advice to avoid strenuous activity. What drove her, Peake suggests, was a fierce determination to disprove every doctor, teacher and employer who said she would never amount to anything. But it also has the momentum of tragedy, as that enormous heart finally gave out while Burton was cycling round Morley delivering invitations to her 59th birthday party.Staged with the audience on risers occupying three sides of the open floor-level stage, lighting is a key feature of Beryl‘s production design. Simon Bedwell does an excellent job integrating with Ed Ullyart’s set with illuminated wall-mounted bicycle wheels serving multiple functions to powerful and clever effect. The mix of pendant lighting and a traditional theatrical rig works and helps shift moods and moments when a more serious energy is required. I do hope, however, that Bedwell takes a second look at the balance of the down-lighting on the characters versus the need to see the rear-wall projections, as the video was unfortunately too washed out to see properly in the first act.

Joyful, uplifting and utterly delightful ... Get on your bike and get to Dalston!” – LondonTheatre1 a b Abraham, Richard (20 November 2012). "BBC to broadcast Beryl Burton radio drama". Cycling Weekly. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014 . Retrieved 4 June 2014. Charlie was Burton's greatest supporter, a one-man mechanic, driver, childminder and husband rolled into one. He was ahead of his time, thinks Peake: "Initially I thought this was going to be a story about a housewife and a mother in the 1950s, finding it so hard to get out on that bike, her husband won't be supporting her and she's doing it against all odds. Behind the Scenes of Queens of the Coal Age". Savvy Productions. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013 . Retrieved 8 April 2015.Hamlet Review". The Guardian. 20 September 2014. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015 . Retrieved 8 April 2015. BBC National Short Story Award: Briar Road". BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015 . Retrieved 21 September 2015. Cast confirmed for BBC Two's cycle of Shakespeare films" (Press release). BBC Drama Publicity. 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012 . Retrieved 20 July 2012. Peake has appeared in many television and stage productions, including Victoria Wood's dinnerladies, Channel 4's Shameless, in the lead role of barrister Martha Costello in the BBC's legal drama Silk and alongside John Simm in the BBC drama The Village, depicting life in a Derbyshire village during the First World War. [10] Following career advice from Victoria Wood, between the two series of dinnerladies, Peake lost so much weight that an explanation had to be written into the script for her character, Twinkle. [5]