New Southampton Arts Festival celebrating the centenary of British Women winning the vote
Nuffield Southampton Theatres (NST) announces The Bungalow Café Festival, a brand new festival in honour of 100 years since the first British women won the right to vote. The festival will run from 6 September to 13 October across NST’s venues City, Studio Theatre and Campus, comprising of theatre, music, comedy and film.
The Bungalow Café once stood on 157 Above Bar Street, Southampton, opposite the new NST City. It was the local home of women’s suffrage before it was destroyed in the Blitz.
Head of programming Katy Snelling has said: “Just as the Bungalow Café was the meeting point for the NUWSS we hope this festival and NST will be a meeting point for conversations about the power of women’s voices, 100 years after women first won the vote in Britain.”
The festival opens with NST’s latest production Women In Power (6-29 Sep) written by seven leading female writers including Shappi Khorsandi, Jenny Éclair, Wendy Cope and Jess Phillips MP. Other theatre highlights include a play from Proto-type Theater, The Audit (or Iceland, a modern myth) (10 Sep) a theatrical work set in Iceland, examining contemporary politics 10 years on from the 2008 financial crash; SEXY (14 Sep) which explores the conflicted relationship with our bodies and sexiness through comedy, spoken word, dance and various states of undress and Luca Rutherford’s Political Party(17 Sep) showing how politics is done, through music, dancing and eggs.
Other theatre includes Bullish (20-21 Sep), a new mythical play exploring new and ancient territories in trans-masculine gender and identity. Plus, the NT Live screening of the National Theatre’s Julie (3 Oct) starring Vanessa Kirby (The Crown, NT Live: A Streetcar Named Desire) and Eric Kofi Abrefa (The Amen Corner).
Comedy highlights include Ruby Wax, the Monk and the Neuroscientist: How To Be Human (29-30 Sep),Sara Pascoe with LadsLadsLads (14 Oct) and an all-female line up of NST’s regular The Comedy Bar: Big Gig (11 Oct) including Lucy Porter, Angela Barnes and Shazia Mirza.
Other highlights include Salon Du Cinema which celebrates the trail blazing icon, Mae West (12 Sep), RSC Live: The Merry Wives of Windsor (8 Oct), a live all female DJ set from Frau DJs (22 Sep) and talks by leading feminist speakers Dr Naomi Paxton (22 Sep) and Dr Finn Mackay (29 Sep).
The Bungalow Café Festival culminates with a new production of Medusa (11-13 October), a shocking story of rejection, redemption and revenge, created by Laboratory Creative Associates and performed by Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Elf Lyons.
Tickets and the full programme for The Bungalow Café Festival is available online at nstheatres.co.uk or from the Box Office on 023 8067 1771
LISTINGS INFORMATION:
WOMEN IN POWER
Directed by Blanche McIntyre
Written by Wendy Cope, Jenny Éclair, Suhayla El-Bushra, Natalie Haynes, Shappi Khorsandi, Jess Phillips and Brona C. Titley
Dates: 6-29 September 2018
Venue: NST City
Tickets: Starting at £10
THE AUDIT (OR ICELAND, A MODERN MYTH)
By Prototype Theater
Written and Directed by Andrew Westerside
Dates: 10 September 2018 at 19.45
Venue: NST City Studio
Tickets: £14/£10 concessions
SALON DU CINEMA
Presented by Scary Little Girls
Dates: 12 September 2018 at 19.45
Venue: NST City Studio
Tickets: £14/£10 concessions
SEXY
Performed by Vanessa Kisuule
Dates: 14 September 2018 at 19.00
Venue: NST City Studio
Tickets: £14/£10 concessions
LUCA RUTHERFORD’S POLITICAL PARTY
Directed by Alex Swift
Dates: 17 September 2018 at 19.45
Venue: NST City Studio
Tickets: £14/£10 concessions
EXPERIMENT
Dates: 17 September/29 October 2018
Venue: NST City Studio
Tickets: £5/£4 for Lab network members.
BULLISH
Milk Presents
Written and Directed by Lucy J Skilbeck
Dates: 20-21 September 2018 at 19.45
Venue: NST City Studio
Tickets: £14/£10 concessions
THE GATEWAY SESSION: FRAU DJS
Dates: 22 September 2018 at 19.30
Venue: NST City Studio
Tickets: £10
DR NAOMI PAXTON
Dates: 22 September 2018 at 17:30
Venue: NST Rehearsal Room
Tickets: £8 advance/£10 on night
WIRE WOOL TALKS: DR FINN MACKAY
Dates: 29 September 2018 at 17:30
Venue: NST Rehearsal Room
Tickets: £8 advance/£10 on night
RUBY WAX, THE MONK AND THE NEUROSCIENTIST: HOW TO BE HUMAN
Dates: 29-30 September 2018 at 19.30
Venue: NST Campus
Tickets: £20
NT LIVE: JULIE
By Polly Stenham
Dates: 3 October 2018 at 19.00
Venue: NST City
Tickets: £17.50
FESTIVAL PANEL DISCUSSION
Dates: 4 October 2018 at 18:00
Venue: NST City
Tickets: £10
RSC: THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
Dates: 8 October 2018 at 19:00
Venue: NST City
Tickets: £17.50
THE COMEDY BAR: BIG GIG
Dates: 11 October 2018 at 20:00
Venue: NST City
Tickets: From £17
MEDUSA
Created by Laboratory Creative Associates
Created with Elf Lyons
Dates: 11-13 October 2018 at 19.45
Venue: NST City Studio
Tickets: £14/£10 concessions
SARA PASCOE: LADS, LADS, LADS
Dates: 14 October 2018 at 19:30
Venue: NST Campus
Tickets: £18