Maiden Speeches

by Hannah Davies directed by Eleanor Rhode produced by Tara Finney in association with York Theatre Royal

This research and development project was funded by Arts Council England in 2018.

The Arts Council funding has enabled the Maiden Speeches team to research, develop and produce an early draft of a script which will undergo a developmental workshop week with director and actors in February 2018, followed by two work-in-progress readings in the spring of 2018, one at York Theatre Royal, and one at the Actor’s Church in London.

As part of the development of the piece the team have run several participatory workshops at York Theatre Royal engaging the local community. They have also worked alongside Vote 100, a Parliamentary project that celebrates the centenary of some women’s (those over thirty who owned property) enfranchisement in 1918. On the 30th January writer Hannah Davies will perform her spoken word poem inspired by the Maiden Speeches project at a Vote 100 event at the Houses of Parliament, What Difference Did the War Make? World War One and Votes for Women, where there will also be a round table discussion with MPs and academics including Maria Miller MP and Professor Sarah Childs (author of the Good Parliament Report).

The Maiden Speeches team have also been working in association with Debate Mate, an organisation that fosters social mobility by running debate clubs in schools around the UK and across the world. Debate Mate will be joining the Maiden Speeches project at their London reading event for a post-show debate to showcase the fantastic work that they do with young people.

After the readings Maiden Speeches will undergo a further period of development and the creative team are currently looking for partners in order to bring this relevant and exciting play to full production.

Read more from director Eleanor Rhode here.