Savage Daughters
Part of Women's Workshop 'In the Cycles' Festival
"I fully understand that this is not therapy, but this is so therapeutic. To be able to rewrite our own experience, from a more objective viewpoint, is priceless" Participant of Savage Daughters
A poignant, darkly humorous, exploration of womanhood and the control our bodies endure through the many cycles of our lives.
Savage Daughters was created by members of Women's Workshop in Amble between June and November 2021 as part of 'In the Cycles' Festival. Facilitated and Directed by Ashlea Sanderson, the women devised a dynamic performance using drama, song and creative writing. The group started with the theme of 'In The Cycles' and explored the many different experiences of the different seasons of a woman’s body. From menstruation to menopause, motherhood and moon syncing, we investigated the attitudes about and the control over women's bodies and how that has affected each of us as individuals and as a group. The women performed the piece in the Theatre at The Dovecote Centre, space kindly shared with us by Northumberland Theatre Company, as part of Samhain celebrations in November 2021. We had planned to perform Savage Daughters a second time as part of the 16 Day of Acitivism on Violence Against Women and Girls at the end of November; sadly, Storm Arwen put an end to that! But do watch this space for future performances...
Women of Tyneside
Workie Ticket Theatre were invited to take part in the Festival of Women project by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. The theme for our theatre piece was 'Female Relationships in unusual places.' We created a piece of theatre with women from South Tyneside by responding to objects, images and artifacts in the collections of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums.
We responded to the lack of women in these collections and created our own stories in a series of workshops. We explored what it would be like to work in a munitions factory or be part of the Jarrow Women's Fire Brigade. We admired Red Ellen and sang Suffragette songs and as always, we shared our own personal stories of battles we had over come and our hopes for the future. The final show back performance was recorded and then archived in South Shields Museum, thus leaving a legacy of the women in South Tyneside.
HERitage
Part of the Great Northumberland Winter Festival
“I have really enjoyed the last 3 months and have met some fabulous women and feel like I am part of a community now. Thank you for this experience..” HERitage participant.
The HERitage Project created by Women’s Workshop aimed to celebrate Northumberland women’s heritage by offering an arts focused programme of workshops open to local women which included: drama, creative writing and art. Workie Ticket Theatre concentrated on highlighting women's stories to educate, raise self-esteem and build confidence. We explored participant’s own HERitage and researched local women from Northumberland who we admired including Josephine Butler, Margaret Armstrong, Grace Darling and Emily Wilding Davison. The project created opportunities for local women to be involved in a professional production with Workie Ticket as writers and performers. We also explored supporting their confidence, knowledge in using drama for better well being and empowering women through theatre.
The project ran from mid-January to 11th March and was part of the Great Northumberland Winter Festival. It ended with a showcase of art, photography and an afternoon of performance on 11th March as part of International Women’s Day celebrations at the Dovecote Centre in Amble.
We delivered one taster session before Christmas to engage the group and discuss what they wanted from us. We explained that Workie Ticket Theatre Company is female-led and we use theatre to empower women and promote emotional health and well being. In total, we delivered 10 weeks of workshops in Amble, created a platform for women to have their say and celebrated women’s heritage and identity. Their play created with writer, JoJo Kirtley “Sticky Toffee Pudding and butterscotch Sauce” was written alongside the drama workshops and Lindsay Nicholson facilitated workshops as well as performed with the women to support their theatre piece. JoJo also wrote a special monologue entitled, HERitage, which was performed by the outstanding Lynn Stutt.
“I’d like to say that this project was more than just drama. It was educational. It was fun. It was lovely to work and learn together.
It was also lovely to have made true friends. We have busy lives, sometimes stressful and it was really heart-warming and encouraging that I turned up and you all let me offload if I needed to.”
HERitage participant.
