Coracle in partnership with Alphabetti Theatre,
Supported by Community Foundation present
SUFFRAGETTE
Short plays from today and 100 years ago.
“Varied, thought provoking and often funny...intelligent and accessible. A worthwhile and entertaining evening at the theatre”
North East Theatre Guide
“Five interesting plays looking at the subject of gender equality from different points of view, written by a mixture of seasoned and new writers and performed by a group of eight actors - under the directorial hand of Matt Jamie who runs a tight ship and gets to the heart of each play. An entertaining and thought-provocactive evening of theatre
British Theatre Guide
Four new short plays celebrating the victory for women’s votes,
alongside a reading of an original Suffrage Play written by members of the Actresses’ Franchise League
1918: the first election in which women could vote in the UK. Getting that vote was a difficult and costly journey - and even then not all women could vote. 100 years later, and the journey to equality is by no means over.
In 2018, Coracle put a call out for short plays inspired by any aspect of the Suffragette movement. We received 40 applications from around the world and selected 3 plays to be performed alongside a piece by Arabella Arnott, and a reading of 'How the Vote was Won' - an original Suffrage play from 1909.
The production ran from 17-19 May at Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle.
"How The Vote Was Won"
by Cicely Hamilton and Christopher St John (1909)
(presented by special arrangement with Samuel French Ltd.)
A STAGED READING DIRECTED BY RACHAEL WALSH
CAST ARABELLA ARNOTT, ZOE LAMBERT, BROGAN GILBERT, JACKIE EDWARDS, LUCY CURRY, DANIEL WATSON, ADAM JORDAN DONALDSON.
The Government says that women do not need votes as they are all looked after by men. All the self-supporting women leave their jobs and insist on support from their nearest male relative. Unfortunately for Horace Cole, he seems to have quite a few relatives...
"Rachael Walsh keeps the pace going at a good lick from the start...
It’s a little known piece, but it’s a little gem."
British Theatre Guide
"Banter"
by Christopher Moore (Ireland, 2018)
DIRECTED BY MATT JAMIE
CAST LUCY CURRY and DANIEL WATSON
A brother and sister have different views about whether "a bit of banter" on WhatsApp is harmless fun or something much darker. A short play which tackled issues which were in the papers in Spring 2018 (you can read a reference here)
"An Accident of Birth"
by Lizi Patch (Yorkshire, 2018)
DIRECTED BY MATT JAMIE
CAST JUDE NELSON and ADAM JORDAN DONALDSON
Two siblings try to understand human relationships and gender roles through overheard conversations from inside the womb.
"A clever, gentle and off-the-wall approach to the topic which not only entertains (and it is very funny) but also gives us a totally different and thought-provoking perspective."
British Theatre Guide
"Women and Girls"
by Allison Davies (Northumbria, 2018)
DIRECTED BY MATT JAMIE
CAST ARABELLA ARNOTT and BROGAN GILBERT
"Enough is enough is enough is enough.
Imagine a change, an end, a shift.
Imagine a mark... a cross in a box"
"An unflinching examination of sexual relationships and their associated emotions. The cast rise to the challenge of the piece and, in fact, meet it head on, and they bring home very clearly the words of the Woman: 'enough is enough is enough is enough.'"
British Theatre Guide
"Someone Had To Do Something"
by Arabella Arnott (Newcastle, 2018)
DIRECTED BY MATT JAMIE
CAST JACKIE EDWARDS and ZOE LAMBERT
"In the true married relationship, the independence of husband and wife will be equal, their dependence mutual, and their obligations reciprocal" So said Lucretia Mott 100 years ago. How's that playing out in 2018...?
About the Directors
MATT JAMIE is an actor, director, photographer and film maker, based in the North East of England. Directing work at Alphabetti Theatre includes Life After… and Fresh Start (both also by Arabella Arnott) and The Ties That Bind (“Intense and highly emotionally charged... deeply moving... powerful” British Theatre Guide); The Rooms: Dreaming is Free (winner, Best New Writing Award 2015 NE Theatre Guide, “Wonderfully atmospheric” NARC Magazine) as well as numerous staged readings and other short pieces. Other theatre directing work includes Stars and Sh*t, In Stitches, Joe Johnson and the Liberals, Our Kids Names, and Die Herd - all with Live Lab/Live Theatre Newcastle, and Bird of Pray for Coracle in London
RACHEL WALSH is a writer and director based in Newcastle. After graduating with a first-class degree in Drama and Scriptwriting she has worked with a variety of theatres and companies across the North East including Live Theatre, Oddmanout, Workie Ticket Theatre Company and Theatre Space NE. Most recently she directed A Very Mediocre Christmas by Gary Kitching for Alphabetti Theatre's Christmas Cabaret and her own short play Perdition for Workie Ticket Theatre Company. Rachael is a director/facilitator for Mortal Fools and a writer/facilitator for New Writing North. She is a Creative Associate at Seven Stories and an NYT Associate. Her first short film, Stiff' was selected for Boston's Women in Comedy Festival 2017 and the NYC Short Comedy Festival 2018.