STRIFE is a little-performed work by John Galsworthy who is known to modern audiences and readers as the creator of The Forsyte Saga rather than this gritty take on early 20th century industrial relations.

This revival, at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, until September 10, is the directorial debut of actor Bertie Carvel and he puts a lot of thought into drawing parallels between the struggles of workers and management then and now.

For Trenartha Tinplate Works read Tata steel at Port Talbot and the metaphors did not need spelling out. However, it is the characters of the leaders of the management and workers who make for the play’s central message.

Veteran William Gaunt as John Anthony, the belligerent chairman of Wilders begins his performance quietly, perhaps too quietly, while his protagonist, David Roberts, played with conviction by Ian Hughes, is the opposite - starting with volume and bluster but gradually losing his fervour.

These two central performances are ably supported by a large cast of workers, their wives and the directors of the company with a number of them doubling as necessary.

Although the men have the blockbuster sppeches, particularly Roberts, the most affecting performances come from the two women who represent the opposing sides - Lizzy Watts as Enid Underwood and Lucy Black as Annie Roberts.

Pride and its consequences are ably demonstrated in both the writing and the acting in this interesting period piece with its clever set adding to the modern resonance of the timeless theme.

Alicia Denny