Pop politics and poverty collide in hit Edinburgh Fringe Show coming to Luton Library Theatre

Pop, politics and poverty collide in this coming of age tale set in recession torn Britain - coming to Luton Library Theatre.

Anthem for Dissatisfaction, which is at the venue at 7.30pm on Tuesday, November 17, combines a killer soundtrack with heartfelt working class wit and humour. In the 2007 credit crunch siblings Sarah and Jamie are growing up in Belfast with a shared obsession of music and the weight of parents on the breadline. Rock, pop, and punk rail against austerity Britain and an ever-failing Tory government, giving them an epic score to navigate lives that are destined for different paths.

Anthem for Dissatisfaction, which is touring to venues across the south east of England in November, follows Sarah and Jamie from boisterous 11-year olds to the end of their 20s as they contemplate their futures. Generation spanning songs by Oasis, The Jam, Thin Lizzy, Bruce Springsteen, Sam Fender and more scream at the state of the nation, tugging at the memories of what it means to grow up on benefits in a country where poverty became a punchline. Benefits Britain never sounded so good…

Jamie is the baby of the family. He has absolutely no tact, no patience and no filter. But where did they ever get anyone? Sarah is 11 months and 4 days older which means she’s smarter, she’s cooler and she’s right about everything. She was right that Oasis were freedom, she was right that Manic Street Preachers were poetry, and she was right to be worried when dad lost his job. And in 2023 everything’s going wrong again, the bills keep going up and the opportunities keep going down. Sarah and Jamie aren’t two kids in one bedroom anymore, the future is uncertain and there’s only so long you can hang on to the past.
A defiant “rip-roaring tour de force” fuelled by the music and people who speak to your soul and punch you in the gut.

The play rejoices in working-class wit, integrity and disarming honesty. Never afraid to tackle the subjects including loss, death and grief it also sparkles with a joyful, mischievous humour that has audiences laughing, cheering and singing along. Co-director Tony Devlin said ‘Gina’s play is an explosion of working-class frustration against a system, specifically designed for them not to succeed. It’s a powerful and hilarious commentary of the cost of living status quo as well as the current state of chassis in the world, told through two characters that we cannot help but love and wish to succeed’

In 2025 the show was a huge award-winning success at the Edinburgh and Dublin Fringe festivals. It was written by Gina Donnelly of SkelpieLimmer productions who co-directed alongside Brassneck Theatre Artistic Director Tony Devlin. It stars Emily Lamey and Simon Sweeney.
Boot tickets at www.librarytheatre.co.uk