International Women’s Day

Women & Theatre celebrate International Women’s Day 2011

Cervical Monologues1

Friday 11th March at 3pm
Lecture Theatre, Uffculme Centre

Join us for a special International Women’s Day event, where we revisit some of our most well loved work.  Women & Theatre members Janice Connolly and Terina Talbot will perform alongside staff and service users of Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, to present extracts from The Cervical Monologues. A popular play that takes a holistic look at ‘the whole woman’; touching on love, sexuality, sexuality, relationships, body images and our general lives.

This will be an uplifting, celebratory event marking the power of the female voice and the importance of talking honestly about the things that matter, approaches that have stood Women & Theatre in good stead over the years.

Light refreshments will be provided.

For more information, contact info@womenandtheatre.co.uk

If you would like to learn more about International Women’s Day, head over to http://internationalwomensday.com/

Other events happening across Birmingham include:

5th March 2011:

  • “Celebrating the Past, Planning our Future”
    Mayfield School.
    Heathfield Road, Handsworth, Birmingham , B19 1HJ
    10am – 1pm

    International Women’s Day takes place in March, each year and is celebrated around the world to mark women’s struggle for equal rights, justice, peace and progress. The theme for the International Women’s Day event is Celebrating the Past, Planning our Future. The event will celebrate the 100th celebration of the International Women’s Day by promoting different services and products for women and their families with a variety of stalls and activities.   We will also provide pampering sessions for the women such as nail art, massages, etc.   If you would like to attend with a free stall, or if there is a group / organisation that you feel could attend with a stall, please feel free to inform them of the event and pass on their details to kingswayproject@yahoo.co.uk

8th March 2011:

  • “Come join us for a day of fun and pampering.”
    Balsall Heath Church Centre
    100 Mary Street, Balsall Heath, B12 9JU
    10:00am til 2:00pm
    Including guest speakers, awards to community women, stalls, free hot lunch, entertainment, Mehndi and lots more. Creche also available (booked in advance only)
  • Majils – Women Unplugged
    6pm – 9pm, £2 entry on the door
    Coffee Lounge, 10/11 Navigation Street, B’ham City Centre
    An open mic night, showcasing an eclectic mix of   women performers from across Birmingham, in celebration of International Women’s Day. A unique gathering of women with a shared passion for the arts, poetry, writing & music.  Whether you want to spin us a yarn, spit your bars, hit us with your punch line, wax us lyrical with your prowess, or simply sway us with your sultry sounds…Majlis is the place for you. Join us for a great night – all women welcome!

10th March 2011:

  • Women’s Voices Against Global Poverty
    18:00 – 21:00
    West Midlands Fire Service HQ Vauxhall Rd, Nechells, Birmingham, B7 4HW
    Jubilee Debt Campaign Multifaith Project (JDC)
    Leading women from the different faith groups in the West Midlands will be taking part in fast moving entertainment, story telling, music, to raise awareness on the subject of Global Poverty. Keynote speaker: Shabana Mahmood MP.
    http://www.jdcmultifaith.org/

31st March 2011:

  • Still… No Limits (£5 / £3)
    7:30pm @ The Drum
    An emotionally charged evening of dance and song, which embraces the challenges and aspirations women are experiencing as mothers, leaders, sisters and friends. The event marks International Women’s Day (IWD).
    http://www.the-drum.org.uk/event/stil-no-limits

Posted: February 24, 2011 in Announcements, news
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Comedy Course with Mrs Barbara Nice, starting 2nd March

Stanhope Comedy Course

Free Comedy Course with Mrs Barbara Nice

  • Create your own stand-up comedy routine
  • Develop your skills on the microphone
  • Build your confidence
  • Make your voice heard
  • Have a laugh with new mates!

Come and join popular local comedian Mrs Barbara Nice, a stand-up comedy star with TV credits including Phoenix Nights and Coronation Street, on a comedy course that will make stand up comics out of total beginners.  You also get the chance to perform at a Community Comedy Evening at the end.  There are only 15 places, so book now!

Course held on Wednesday Evenings, 7pm – 9pm

From 2nd March – 30th March 2011

At Stanhope Hall Community Centre, Ketley Croft, Highgate, B12 0XG

Free for all 16+ living in or around Highgate

For more information or to join the course call Pippa at Women & Theatre on 0121 449 7117 or email pippafrith@womenandtheatre.co.uk

This project has been funded through the Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust’s Mental Health Grants Programme 2009-10 and suported by the Digbeth Trust.

Posted: February 10, 2011 in Announcements, news
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Gay Birmingham Back to Back launch on 25th February

Gay Birmingham Back to Back

Join us for the launch of the exciting new “Gay Birmingham Back to Back” LGBT History Project, as part of LGBT History Month 2011. Featuring talks, a film screening, poetry and debate.

25th February 2011, 7-8.30pm
Hexagon Theatre, mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham
£3 with free drink
Booking: 0121 446 3232 or www.macarts.co.uk

Posted: February 3, 2011 in Announcements, news
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The Palace of Wasted Dreams: Thurs 3rd – Sat 5th & Wed 9th Feb at mac

wasted-poster-final-small-for-web

The Palace of Wasted Dreams
Thurs 3rd – Sat 5th & Wed 9th – Sat 12th February, 8pm
mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH
Tickets & Information:0121 446 3232 www.macarts.co.uk
Tickets £12 (£8) (Suitable for ages 14+)

It’s here, it’s arrived. Come on in! The Palace of Wasted Dreams.

Licensed for laughing, crying, dancing, singing, surprising and thinking on.
A place where anything can happen, and something always does…
Whether you’ve been before or it’s your very first time, come on down to the Palace!

The Palace of Wasted Dreams is the culmination of a two-year project called Wasted, a new participatory musical theatre project exploring and giving voice to women’s relationship with alcohol.
An essential night out, an intoxicating total live theatre experience. Dress for a night out. Non-drinkers very welcome!

The Palace of Wasted Dreams has been devised by Women & Theatre from materials gathered through research. It is performed by Women & Theatre and a cast of local people and directed by Gwenda Hughes. Music has been composed by Gurdan Thomas and The Company, with musical direction by Clare Edwards. Production Design is by Andrew Purvin, Lighting Design by Simon Bond, and Stage Management by Sara Crathorne.

The Palace of Wasted Dreams is a co-production with mac and is supported by Arts Council England, Aquarius, Sir Barry Jackson Trust, Bryant Trust, AERC, John Feeney Charitable Trust, Birmingham City Council, the Harry Payne Trust, The Grimmitt Trust and The Cole Charitable Trust.

Posted: January 30, 2011 in Announcements, Community, Theatre, news
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Women & Theatre have moved!

Boxes nearly unpacked, here we are settling into our new offices! From 17th January, our new address is:
The Old Lodge, Uffculme
50 Queensbridge Road
Moseley
Birmingham
B13 8QY
T: 0121 449 7117
F: 0121 449 0785
Emails remain unchanged.

Women and Theatre are sad to announce that after 27 years based at The Friends Institute we have moved to new premises. We have relocated to The Old Lodge within the Uffculme premises – the home of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust. We would like thank the Friends Institute, and all its staff, tenants and supporters both past and present, we had a fantastic time there and will always value the relationships developed over the years. We would also like to thank everyone at Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust and the Uffculme Centre for the warm welcome, and new friendships and partnerships to come!

Posted: January 17, 2011 in Announcements, news
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See Me, Hear Me with Priestley Smith School

See me, Hear Me is an exciting new project which will bring together the students of Priestley Smith School for the Visually Impaired with members of their neighbouring communities. Priestly Smith and W&T have built a strong partnership through our previous project, Tuned In, and we are very happy to be working with them once again. See Me Hear Me responds to Priestly Smith School’s desire to make genuine connections with the local community, as the majority of the school’s pupils and staff live out of the area. The project has been designed so that staff, pupils, and community members work together around a shared community interest, to build empathy and create sustainable relationships.

Students will work with W&T to create an original theatre script, developed through creative research, using online resources, local archives, and interviews with members of the local community to uncover the story of the school. The final play will be performed at Perry Beeches Junior School for the local community, pupils of other schools, staff and parents. There will also be a creative exhibition of word and image to accompany the theatre performances.

By encouraging interaction and sharing between the school community and the wider community, See Me, Hear Me is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen community relations and arts participation, bring sighted and visually impaired people together and develop creative skills, as well as create an original piece of high quality theatre.

Posted: December 17, 2010 in Announcements, Theatre, news
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Gay Birmingham Back to Back – New project for 2011

Gay Birmingham Back to Back logo

W&T are working in partnership with Birmingham LGBT Community Trust to create Gay Birmingham Back to Back, an exciting new LGBT history project, about the lives of four real life historical people from Birmingham. The project will research the lives of four LGBT people from Birmingham’s past. Researching as far back as the 1850s up until the 1970s the project will look at the social, political and personal circumstances of LGBT people in these time periods. W&T will then develop this research into theatrical performances which will take place at the Back to Back Houses on Hurst Street as part of the 2011 SHOUT Festival.

Birmingham LGBT Community Trust are currently seeking volunteers to help gather the research, and if you are interested in volunteering please contact hiddenlives@blgbt.org.

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

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Stanhope Community Comedy Evening

Local men from Highgate perform their own stand-up comedy
Hosted by Mrs Barbara Nice

Wednesday 8th December 2010 at 7.30pm
Stanhope Hall Community Centre, Ketley Croft, Highgate, B12 0XG

Free for all ages, curry and refreshments included!

barbaranice

After the success of the Stanhope Women’s Comedy Night and the Stanhope Young People’s Comedy Night, the men are at it too!

This special comedy evening features stand-up from a group of Highgate men who have been taking part in a comedy course with Barbara Nice (of Coronation Street and Phoenix Nights fame).

Come and join us for a night of laughter and fun – Featuring new local acts and the hilarious Steve Day to round it all off!

‘A great night-well worth it!’
‘This was a good, fun packed evening. It should happen again. The food was good too!’

Please find a map below; Stanhope Hall is on the corner of Emily Street and Ketley Croft:

View Larger Map

This project has been funded through the Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust’s Mental Health Grants Programme 2009-10 and supported by the Digbeth Trust.

Posted: December 3, 2010 in Announcements, Community, Projects, Uncategorized, news
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See Me, Hear Me – Local Research

Following the success of Tuned In, Women and Theatre are currently working in collaboration with visually-impaired children from Priestley Smith School on Beeches Road, Perry Barr. Our aim is to bring together the students with members of the neighbouring communities to build strong links and relationships where there have previously been none. The students will then work with us to create an original piece of theatre titled See Me, Hear Me to be performed at the school in March 2011 (dates TBC). There will also be a creative exhibition of word, sound and image on show at the school to accompany the performances.

The project offers local residents the opportunity to visit Priestley Smith School and find out more about what happens there. It will also benefit wider community audiences by enabling them to see a high quality theatre performance about a subject matter they can relate to.

All of our plays and programmes are rooted in the experiences of real people, and so every project begins with a period of research, at the heart of which is talking to people about their experiences.

This is where we need your help!

We are looking for local residents to share with us their stories, memories and tales of the people and history involving Perry Barr – Particularly the Perry Beeches/Priestley Smith School site, Beeches Road, and the surrounding local area. This is a genuine opportunity for sharing and strengthening local community relationships, and our findings will form part of the creative exhibition at the school.

To be part of this valuable research, please contact Pippa/Bianca/Terina by phone, e-mail or post.

Women & Theatre
The Friends Institute, 220 Moseley Road, Highgate,
Birmingham B12 0DG

Tel: 0121 440 4203
Fax: 0121 446 4280
Email: biancaprentice@womenandtheatre.co.uk

Posted: November 19, 2010 in Announcements, Community, Education, Projects, Theatre, Uncategorized, news
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Highgate Community Comedy Evening on Thursday 28th October

Local Young People from Highgate performing their own stand-up comedy
Hosted by Mrs Barbara Nice
Thursday 28th October at 6.30pm
At Stanhope Hall Community Centre, Ketley Croft, Highgate, B12 0XG

Free, for all ages, curry and refreshments included

Have a laugh at this great local night out! This special comedy evening features stand-up from a group of Highgate young people who have been taking part in a comedy course with Mrs Barbara Nice (of Coronation Street and Phoenix Nights fame. Come and support them as they share their newfound skills alongside host Barbara Nice and headline act Joe Lycett, winner of Chortle’s Best Newcomer Award 2010.

Just check out some of the feedback for our last comedy evening:
“Very wicked! Loved it and would like to see more of it!”
“I had a ball- tonight was brilliant!”

Please find a map below; Stanhope Hall is on the corner of Emily Street and Ketley Croft:

View Larger Map

This project has been funded through the Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust’s Mental Health Grants Programme 2009-10 and supported by the Digbeth Trust.

Posted: October 26, 2010 in Announcements, news
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