In the Autumn of 2016, Ken Loach’s social-realist film was hitting the nation’s cinemas, and it got everyone talking. Whilst ‘We’re all in this together’ was bandied about relentlessly by politicians, up on the big screen the everyday, personal tragedy of poverty reflected what many of us were seeing across our communities.
Food bank use was soaring, and the ‘working poor’ had become something of a chilling catchphrase. ‘I, Daniel Blake’ called out the cruelty of a punitive system that dehumanised everyone caught up just trying to get by. Ten years on, how much has changed, and why is now a good time to retell this story?
The actor and comedian David Johns, who portrayed the title character Daniel Blake in the BAFTA winning film says he was moved to adapt it for the stage in 2023 in a bid to ‘make people angry again’. The passing of time has, perhaps, dulled the edges of austerity. With the cost of living at an all-time high, can we look back and learn anything from what we’ve lived through?
Following a heart attack in his late fifties, Geordie carpenter Dan, is prescribed rest by his doctor to heal and recoup. He soon finds himself caught up in the endless bureaucracy of the benefits system pleading with faceless decision makers for some common sense. He befriends single mother Katie, recently parachuted to Newcastle from London in a bid to provide a stable home for her daughter Daisy.
What the stage adaptation captures beautifully is the sense of warmth between the characters. The focused setting really distils the importance of relationships as stripped of everything material, Dan and Katie bond to form community. David Nellist playing Dan perfectly captures the gallows humour necessary during hard times, and keeps the audience engaged. Special mention too to original cast member Kema Sikazwe as China who is a chirpy, youthful hustling contrast and provides high energy to his scenes.
Expect to hear swearing, this is a bleak story but is kept buoyant and in motion by great stage direction. The show opens with Dan enduring the fitness for work assessment that will determine the next months of his life, pleading with his interrogator in a farcical enactment that defies logic. There are some hugely relatable elements in this show that set off knowing chuckles from those watching: Vivaldi’s, Four Seasons playing in an anxiety inducing loop, each time Dan calls the DWP.
The set is simple and manages to establish the mood of a council block, dole office, police station and foodbank. Green plastic chairs form a powerful symbol of institution that sends a shudder down your spine. A screen above the set plays snapshots of the political landscape in the period, a carousel of benefit-bashing soundbites. Tweets and statements decrying those who should just work harder, do better.
Great storytelling is thought provoking, challenging, and emotionally charged. What I think this adaptation of ‘I, Daniel Blake’ does best is that it causes us to really reflect on the last decade. This story pinpoints a shameful period of browbeating those mired in poverty, which has never really gone away. Emergency food aid has tripled and being in work and poor is old news.
Whilst the 2016 film left me shaking with rage, the 2026 play made me thoughtful about the way that communities have stepped up to look out for each other. The standout scene from this show is, when pushed to the edge, and left without a voice, Dan clambers onto a jobcentre desk and sprays his demands across the walls. But the truly heroic acts in ‘I, Daniel Blake’ are the small acts of kindness that people perform for each other. This show reminds us of the importance of loving thy neighbour, and in holding fast to our empathy through divisive times.
I, Daniel Blake runs at the Leeds Playhouse until 9 May 2026. Full details and tickets here.
This post was written by reader Lou Bentley in return for two free tickets, as part of South Leeds Goes To The Playhouse.
Photo: David Nellist as Daniel Blake. Credit: Pamela Raith
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