Elizabeth Wilkinson is a performer in the Old Electric’s community theatre company production of Myths – an all-female production that draws on the stories of women from ancient to modern times. She writes for BSC ahead of the show’s opening tonight.
Who are the women that kept the world turning? This was one of the questions we asked when we set out to create a piece of theatre that shared the stories of real and mythological women – and some who bridge the gap – from the creation of our country to the modern day.
It turned out there were quite a few – far more inspiring, fascinating, unique and mostly unheard stories than we could have imagined. This was the first time The Old Electric’s Community theatre project had taken the form of an all-female production, so we spent time getting to know each other, building strength and security in each others’ company. We researched and wrote, built a (gigantic!) puppet, crafted and created music and dance pieces in strangely idyllic weekly sessions from January until Easter, when we began to rehearse. The show began to grow – a true ensemble piece that is far more than the sum of its individual performers.
One of the most joyful things about The Old Electric is the spirit of experimentation and creativity it engenders in people and this has been a thread throughout the development of Myths. Now, following the dress rehearsal and preparing for our opening night tonight, I can feel that joy bubbling in me. I’m so excited to share the show with audiences.
We were lucky enough to have some people who had been involved in the production process preview our dress rehearsal tonight and it was truly wonderful to hear their feedback. They included women from Reclaim Blackpool, the project mapping sexual harassment, who also joined us early in the development process. They shared stories from women who had bravely plotted their stories on their interactive map, some of which have been woven into the story.
One of the things that concerned me about doing an all-female production was that people might somehow expect it to be an angry rant – a theatrical misandry, but the overall feeling of our ‘test audience’ was that there was a sense of hope and optimism. Yes, some of the stories we tell are angry, some sad, but we have so much hope. And we always, always have love and solidarity.
Georgia from Reclaim Blackpool said: “Myths was an opportunity to experience the full range of emotion. I had joy and goosebumps one moment, and feminine rage the next. The way they embedded the stories of modern day women from Blackpool was sad, inspiring and unexpected all at once.”
Myths has just three performances at The Old Electric on Springfield Rd: Friday 28 June at 7pm and Saturday 29 June at 2pm and 7pm. There’s £5 tickets available for the matinee – just use the code Myth55 at checkout – normal price is £8 but if money is a barrier then drop us an email at [email protected] and we can pop you on the guest list – we’d just love to have you with us. For tickets book here.
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