A documentary play with traditional music recounting the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs by Graham Padden.

The Wrong End of the World opens with the grievances of the agricultural labourers of Dorset in the early 1830s and traces their formation of a Friendly Society under the leadership of George Loveless, their subsequent prosecution and transportation to Australia.

Granted a free pardon as a result of pressure brought to bear in Parliament, the Tolpuddle leaders return to England as early heroes of the Trade Union Movement.

Against the background of the rise of Chartism, however, they encounter renewed hostility and Padden’s play ends with them preparing to leave England for a new life in Canada.

First performed in Salisbury Playhouse in 1987

Published by Graham Padden 2009