2018 marks the centenary of women being granted the vote (as long as they were over 30) – and what better way to celebrate this than with the performance of suffragette play, ‘How The Vote Was Won?’
The play was originally penned at the turn of the 20th Century, before women had even achieved the right to vote, demonstrating it’s enormous cultural significance. The performance will be brought to you on 25th May, by SunRise theatre: a brand new company comprising of four home educated girls, who are formidably described as “outspoken and opinionated”.
The one act play tells the tale of Horace and Ethel Cole, a couple whose home becomes bombarded with successful and career driven female relatives, all of whom have decided to go on strike.
‘How The Vote Was Won’s director, Jonathon Brown, has said that “it’s wonderful to see this play, a hidden gem brought back to life, and for the girls to connect with the formidable determination of their female ancestors.” He goes on to describe how each actor sourced or created their own costumes and sets and have been incredibly dedicated to the success of the show.
The location for such a play couldn’t be more fitter either. Fitzroy House became Lewes’s first public library in 1897, just before the suffrage movement began to gain real momentum, and is widely reported to have been regularly visited by Virginia Woolf!
Just in case all of the above wasn’t quite enough, the interval will also be filled with a selection of solo shows that will continue along the evening’s emerging theme of the tales of formidable women!
There’s no doubt that in this hugely significant centenary year, we should be celebrating the plays written at the time, in the midst of women’s struggle to gain the vote, particularly when performed by a group of girls getting to grips with women’s past. Guaranteed not to be missed.
Fitzroy House, Friday 25th May, Doors 7pm, Admissions on the door, by donation only, 10 High Street, Lewes.
Proceeds will go towards Fitzroy House and SunRise company.
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