A PRODUCTION celebrating the centenary of women getting the vote takes to the stage tonight, Thursday.

The Militants will be presented by Stockton Heath Methodist Dramatic Society until Saturday and has a strong Warrington connection as the play's author was born in Warrington.

Norman Holland was a playwright before rising to prominence as a civil servant in the Home Office in Whitehall.

Eric Andrews, who is directing The Militants, said: "I met him in Warrington in 1970 around the time the play was first produced by Warrington Co-operative Drama Group, in the Co-op Hall, Winwick Road, both group and hall sadly are no more.

"I was stage manager for the original production along with Hilda (nee Owen) who is now my wife and we both have signed scripts from the author, as did all of the group who performed in the original production.

"Norman wrote a number of short one act plays which were popular for amateur drama groups for use when entering play festivals.

"He also wrote at least one other three act play which again was first produced by the Co-operative Drama Group called Daughter of the Left Hand.

"In this instance the group were formally accredited in the subsequently printed Samuel French's edition of the script."

Set in 1908, The Militants are a group of suffragettes who are in the imaginary northern town of Mettringham which doubles as Warrington.

There are references to street names in the town like Bridge Street and Horsemarket Street, as well as reference to Oliver Cromwell’s statue, although in Holland's Mettringham it is a statue of John Bright.

Eric added: "The story evolves around a businessman and mayor elect, a pompous, narrow minded man totally opposed to women’s suffrage, who unknowingly has three female members of his household who are suffragettes, one of which is his wife, who turns out to be the leader of the group.

"While not written as a comedy the characters in fact are quite serious in their actions but the results are in fact are very funny and light hearted but do offer a more serious and realistic viewpoint of how women’s suffrage was viewed 100 years ago."

Tickets are £7. Call 264179