Wor Bella kicks off new regional tour

A celebrated play telling the remarkable story of the North East’s wartime women footballers is returning, with Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer making an on-screen cameo.

Wor Bella, Ed Waugh’s one-woman play about First World War munitionettes and the extraordinary rise of women’s football, will embark on a North East and Cumbria tour in March 2027 as part of International Women’s Month.

The production tells its story through the eyes of Bella Reay, the prolific Blyth Spartans Ladies centre-forward whose goalscoring exploits more than a century ago have led to her being described as “the Alan Shearer of her day”.

It is a comparison made all the more fitting by the involvement of Newcastle United and England record goalscorer Shearer, who makes a to-camera cameo in the production.

But behind the footballing achievements is a much wider story of working-class women whose contribution to the First World War extended far beyond the pitch.

As men left for the front, women took on physically demanding and often dangerous jobs in munitions factories and other industries.

Football became an escape from those working conditions, but also a way to raise money for wartime charities.

Hundreds of munitionette teams were formed across Britain, including dozens in the North East, with matches attracting crowds in their thousands.

Among the most successful were Blyth Spartans Ladies, formed by young munitionettes working around Blyth harbour.

With Reay leading the line, the team became a footballing force.

They played 30 matches without defeat, winning 26 and drawing four, while their star centre-forward scored an astonishing 133 goals.

Their defining moment came in the 1918 Munitionettes’ Cup.

After a goalless final against Middlesbrough-based Bolckow, Vaughan at St James’ Park, the teams met again at Ayresome Park in front of 22,000 spectators.

Blyth won the replay 5-0, with Reay scoring a hat-trick to secure cup glory.

She later represented England, but the achievements of Reay and many of her contemporaries gradually faded from popular memory.

Wor Bella brings that story back to life while exploring the changing position of women in society and celebrating a generation whose contribution was made both in the workplace and on the football pitch.

Written by Ed Waugh, the production premiered in 2022 and has since played sold-out dates across the North East and London, as well as Newcastle Theatre Royal.

The team behind the show has also produced acclaimed regional productions including The Cramlington Train Wreckers, Carrying David, Centenary and Hadaway Harry.

Now Wor Bella is returning by popular demand for a nine-day tour spanning eight venues, beginning in Hexham and ending in South Shields.

The March 2027 tour includes:

• March 3 – Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham: 2pm and 7.30pm
• March 4 – Phoenix Theatre, Blyth: 7.30pm
• March 5 – Phoenix Theatre, Blyth: 1pm and 7.30pm
• March 7 – The Glasshouse, Gateshead: 4pm
• March 9 – Tullie, Carlisle: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
• March 10 – The Witham, Barnard Castle: 7.30pm
• March 11 – Bishop Auckland Town Hall: 7.30pm
• March 12 – Gosforth Civic Theatre: 2pm and 7.30pm
• March 13 – Westovian Theatre, South Shields: 2pm and 7pm

A private performance at Market Pavilion in Blyth on March 6 is already sold out.

The tour gives audiences another opportunity to discover a sporting and social story that unfolded on their doorstep – and to celebrate women who were football stars long before the modern women’s game began filling stadiums.

Further information and tickets are available through the individual venues and the official Wor Bella website.

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