Manchester Council Flats

Though Dot is a 'Manchester lass' in the play and in the promotional material, it's most probably she was really a Salford girl. With her husband Vinnie being born of Catholic and Irish parents, it makes it probable that they moved to Salford for work (and are United supporters!).

Approaching Manchester from any angle, one will be met with council flats. From the south, the expansive council estates of Wythenshaw, Gorton and Moss Side. In from the North, and the large towering blocks of Salford (and until recent gentrification projects, the 'green quarter' was a location for largely council owned housing). As a child the housing of Salford in particular left an impression, the 'Golden Arches' below adding a touch of irony to the original ideology of these housing developments. 

IT BEGINS TO RAIN

The original title of the play, thought up as a result of a wet evening in Salford, outside The Lowry theatre. It'd been raining for what had felt like weeks. There was no idea of a story at the point, just a starting point: the rain.