Earlier this year Coracle Productions sent out a call for short plays inspired in some way by the Suffragettes. The aim was to put together an evening of plays which would comprise a staged reading of a 1909 play How the Vote Was Won by Cicely Hamilton and Christopher St John, a short play, Someone Had to Do Something, by Coracle member Arabella Arnott, and three new short pieces from those who submitted entries.
“We had a great response to our call out for short plays – from first time writers to seasoned pros – people we knew and people from as far afield as New Zealand and America,” said Artistic Director Matt Jamie.
“Themes ranged from historical pieces to works set in dystopian futures and everything in between. It was a difficult process choosing the final pieces, and although geography wasn’t part of our selection process, we’ve ended up with pieces written by northern (and Northern Irish) writers.”
The plays chosen represent different styles of writing and cover contemporary views on the subject of equality.
In Banter by Christopher Moore from Northern Ireland a brother and sister have different views about whether "a bit of banter" on WhatsApp is harmless fun, or something much darker.
In An Accident of Birth by Lizi Patch from North Yorkshire two siblings try to understand human relationships and gender roles through overheard conversations from inside the womb.
As for North Easterner Allison Davies’ play Women and Girls, enough is enough is enough is enough. Imagine a change, an end, a shift. Imagine a mark... a cross in a box.
Finally Arabella Arnott’s Someone Had To Do Something takes a contemporary look at what writer Lucretia Mott said 100 years ago: “In the true married relationship, the independence of husband and wife will be equal, their dependence mutual, and their obligations reciprocal.”
Matt Jamie will direct the modern plays while Rachael Walsh directs the 1909 play which is based around the fact that the government of the day said that women do not need votes as they are all “looked after by their male relatives.”
The company are Lucy Curry and Daniel Watson (Banter), Jude Nelson and Adam Jordan Donaldson (An Accident of Birth), Arabella Arnott and Brogan Gilbert (Women and Girls) and Zoe Lambert and Jackie Edwards (Someone Had to Do Something). The whole company will form the cast of How the Vote Was Won.
Suffragette runs at Alphabetti from 17 to 19 May and tickets are Pay What You Feel. Tickets can be booked here.