Speaking up

Many times over the 30 years that Women & Theatre has been in existence we have talked about whether we should change our name. In our first decade, when our stable mates were Cunning Stunts and Gay Sweatshop, there was talk of calling ourselves ‘The Wandering Menstruals’. In the 1990s, a decade of big business, there was talk of ‘The Matrix’. In the 2000s, when everybody had to work harder than ever to keep the ship afloat, ‘Theatre Factory’.

But we have stayed with the name that really does sum up what we do – straightforward really – like egg and chips, cheese on toast – the clue is in the name. The reason we often thought of changing it was partly because we did not only work with women, but more so because of the perennial debate of whether we were putting people off by mentioning the fact we were a women’s company. I remember going to do a gig in the eighties and the booker breathing a sigh of relief when he met four very pleasant women, having expected "Germaine Greer in Jack Boots".

Our mission statement is ‘To make deep work about things that matter’. We develop new theatre and drama from research, reflecting the language and lives of ordinary people, giving voices to those who are not usually heard. In doing this, we regularly work with male artists and participants, and our next project ‘The Chocolate Soldier’, in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome and the RRF Museum in Warwick, involves working with local young men to create a theatre piece and archive about young recruits from Birmingham in the First World War. We have employed numerous freelance male performers, designers, writers, stage managers and one of our two associate director posts was held by a man.

We wanted to see what kind of theatre we could make if we were able to speak up, if we were not playing court to men

So why, if we are not totally exclusively working with and for women, have we stuck with the name?

Feminism was for me, in the late seventies and eighties, an open door into growing as a person and consciousness-raising. I was never in the heart of radical feminism, where women with boy babies were asked not to bring them along to meetings, but I know I benefited from the permission to speak up. In this climate I was part of an all-female band called Strumpet, and attended a course of women theatre workshops, funded by the Workers Educational Association (WEA), out of which the company grew. The connection with the WEA, dedicated to the education of the working class, underpins for me the inclusive nature of the company. At the heart of Women & Theatre is a sense of inclusivity, fairness and equality for all, which for me is feminism. We wanted to see what kind of theatre we could make if we were able to speak up, if we were not playing court to men, and if our interests could take centre stage.

Interestingly, we chose to make work about social justice and mental health − the softer, more caring side of life – and traditionally more female. I believe that these traits are not solely female and that men share these sensibilities, but maybe they are not valued as such and so men keep them under wraps.

Mainstream theatre has undergone many changes. An actor recently told me about a well-known director who would stand at the side of the stage during performances jangling the change in his pockets and throwing a penny on stage whenever he thought a particular actor was not cutting it. Hopefully this type of Captain Bligh behavior has sunk but there is there still a fear in some circles of speaking up, of rocking the boat. Particularly as a woman: Is the man who speaks up seen as a courageous, clever, bright spark? Is the woman that speaks her mind thought of as awkward, sanctimonious and with a chip on her shoulder? I do not really know because I have mostly been in an oasis.

For 30 years we have successfully (I hope) created a culture where everyone is equally listened to and valued. This listening includes our audiences, our funders, the communities we work with and for, and the artists we work with.

As a footnote, The Guardian, building on earlier research of Elizabeth Freestone, Artistic Director of Pentabus Theatre, took a look at the status of women in British theatre and found that men outnumber women by 2:1 in all areas except one − the audience, where women are the majority (68% of theatre-goers). At the top ten subsidised theatres women are 33% of board members, 36% of artistic directors, 38% of actors, 24% of directors, 23% of designers and 35% of new plays produced are by women. And, the two artistic directors at the largest theatres, The National and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, have never directed a play written by a woman.

Janice Connolly is Artistic Director of Women & Theatre.
www.womenandtheatre.co.uk