Iron Ladies Special Screening and Q&A at ActOne
Dan Draper to discuss his documentary on the women of the miners' strike
The poster for Iron Ladies
February 26, 2026
A powerful new documentary celebrating the women who sustained the 1984–85 Miners’ Strike is coming to Acton next month, with a special screening and director Q&A at ActOne Cinema on Thursday 7 March.
Iron Ladies shines a light on the working-class women who became the backbone of the strike, organising food kitchens, fundraising networks, picket-line support and political campaigning from Scotland to Kent.
Told entirely in their own words, the film brings together more than twenty women whose activism helped hold mining communities together during one of the most turbulent industrial disputes in modern British history. Many of them remain politically active today, and early reviews have described the documentary as “inspirational” and “essential”.
The 98-minute film, rated 12A, is directed by Dan Draper and features Heather Wood, Betty Cook, Rose Hunter, Lorraine Stansbie, Linda Erskine, Kate Alvey, Kate Flannery, Aggie Currie, Liz French, Christine Powell, Linda Allbutt, Kay Sutcliffe, Juliana Heron, Carol Ross, Janet Wilson-Cunningham, Maxine Penkethman, Sue Poitrowski, Sally Higgins, Kay Case and Lynn Gibson. The trailer can be viewed online.
The film explores how women—many of whom had never been involved in political organising before—stepped into leadership roles as the strike stretched from weeks into months. Their efforts reshaped expectations of women’s activism in mining communities and left a legacy that continues to influence grassroots organising today. Draper’s documentary positions their work not as a footnote to the strike, but as a central force that kept families and communities going during a year-long confrontation with the British state.
Act One Cinema will host the screening on 7 March, followed by a live Q&A with Dan Draper, offering audiences the chance to hear more about the making of the film and the stories behind it.
Tickets and further details are available here.
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