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Preview by Paul Nelson
WILD Pendulum, in association with Concordance, will present
The Women's War - A Centenary Celebration of the Suffragette
Movement at the Finborough Theatre.
The production has been specially commissioned for the Finborough
Theatre by Artistic Director, Neil McPherson.
Concordance has previously been seen at the Fin with productions
which include Larry Kramer's brilliant play The
Destiny of Me, and Louise Page's Falkland
Sound.
The production is presented with the support of Friends of Brompton
Cemetery. Brompton Cemetery, adjacent to the Finborough Theatre,
is the last resting-place of many leading suffragists including
Dame Ethel Smyth and Mrs Pankhurst herself.
It has come upon me as a bit of a surprise, but did you know
that 2003 is the centenary of the foundation of Mrs Pankhurst's
Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), the 90th anniversary
of the death of Emily Wilding Davison at the 1913 Derby in the
suffragette cause, the 75th anniversary of the death of Mrs Pankhurst
and the 75th anniversary of the passing of the Equal Franchise
Act which finally gave all women the vote.
To celebrate and commemorate these anniversaries, the audience
is invited to return to the Finborough Arms of 1913 for a visit
by the Actresses Franchise League, the well-known political pressure
group performing specially written plays to win support for the
Cause.
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The bill will comprise; How the Vote Was Won, by Cicely
Hamilton and Christopher St John. Horace Cole had always argued
that women did not need the vote because they are 'looked after'
by men.
But when he is confronted with a household of female relatives
demanding to be 'supported', the anti-suffrage hero realises the
error of his ways and rushes to march on Parliament to demand
votes for women - now!
A Chat with Mrs Chicky by Evelyn Glover. Charwoman, Mrs
Chicky, finds herself confronted by Mrs Holbrook, who is collecting
signatures for her anti-suffrage petition. This deeply humorous
sketch dramatises the arguments of working class women in favour
of the vote.
Press Cuttings, by George Bernard Shaw, "Compiled
from the editorial columns of the daily papers during the women's
war in 1909". Appalled by the forcible feeding of suffragette
prisoners on hunger strike, Bernard Shaw wrote this satirical
look at how General Mitchener and Prime Minister Balsquith treat
those who are both for and against the vote.
Press Cuttings was originally banned by the Lord Chamberlain
for "attempted blasphemy", and has not been seen in
London for 21 years.
March of the Women, Music by Dame Ethel Smyth, Lyric by
Cicely Hamilton. The anthem of the suffragette movement.
Tribute to Emily Wilding Davison; a tribute compiled from
eyewitness reports, to Emily Wilding Davison, who died after throwing
herself under the King's horse at the 1913 Derby.
The Women's War. Directed by Laura Dunton Clarke. Designed
by Alex Marker. Lighting by Robert Gooch. WITH: Edmund Dehn. Jackie
Everett. Dominique Gerrard. Caroline Head. Simon Holland Roberts.
Cally Lawrence. Anna Ledwich. Olivia Macdonald. Josephine Peer.
Produced by Neil McPherson and Concordance at the Finborough Theatre,
at The Finborough, 118 Finborough Road, London SW10. From August
12 to September 6 Tuesday to Saturday evenings at 7.30pm, Sunday
matinees at 3.30pm (Midweek matinee Wednesday September 3 at 3.30pm)
Tickets 020 7373 3842.
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