The people’s play about the people’s car.

A fiesta for the Ford Fiesta

A verbatim play, driven by community voices, celebrates Britain’s best loved iconic car with joy, laughter, and heartfelt farewells.

Joe Lichtenstein’s interwoven tapestry of real-life stories told by over one hundred people and collected over six months celebrating Britain’s number one selling car. From factory floors to the open road, this unforgettable play drives straight to the heart.

Over these six months, the creative team were embedded in the Orchard Village community by creating weekly arts and crafts workshops into a vibrant space for connection and creativity. By engaging local children, we opened opportunities to chat with parents, gathering verbatim stories from an underserved community in Essex—a place often stereotyped and overlooked. These workshops not only fed a need, somewhere to socialise and be freely creative, they also amplified underrepresented voices and bridged a divide: uniting former factory workers with younger immigrant families in a way previous local authority efforts had failed to achieve.

The result was a groundbreaking production, blending local stories with world-class artistry. With stunning design by award-winning Simon Kenny and evocative factory lighting by the renowned Kathy Sandys, the stage was set for a truly unforgettable experience. Featuring music by Ivor Novello-winning composer Sarah Angliss, haunting vocals by Brian Eno’s chief vocalist Melanie Pappenheim, and dynamic percussion by Bash Ensemble’s Stephen Hiscock, the score captured the rhythms of driving, factory work, and the area’s sounds—paying homage to its role in the birth of techno. Performed by a mix of professional actors and Orchard Village residents, the cast included Mary, a former Ford Dagenham dinner lady serving tea during the show, and Andy, the community center caretaker, delivering a moving solo of Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling in Love. This celebration of creativity and unity was as epic as the community it represented.

A Havering Changing production, in association with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch

June 2023 marked the end of the Ford Fiesta, an icon of the British Motoring Industry, Fiesta is a new play to celebrate its legacy. Telling stories from Ford Fiesta creators, owners, neighbours, and friends. The people’s play about the people’s car.

These work-in-progress performances have been made in partnership with the people of Orchard Village, the former housing estate for Ford Factory workers.