Flights of Fancy at Stratford Circus Arts Centre (Photo: Justin David)
When: 6th – 9th March 2018
Where: Stratford Circus Arts Centre, Theatre Square, London E15 1BX
£: Tickets from £8
What is it?
London women’s stories will take centre stage this International Women’s Day at Stratford Circus Arts Centre. From Tuesday 6th to Friday 9th March, there will be a creative mix of theatre, live art, cabaret and music made by women to celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage.
A stone’s throw from where Sylvia Pankhurst led the fight for women’s suffrage in East London, Stratford Circus Arts Centre will present a collection of shows that explore the many fronts women continue to fight today for equality, 100 years on from the first women getting the vote.
The week will begin with poet and live artist Helen Seymour’s debut solo show To Helen Back on Tuesday 6th March. The show recounts her experiences of recovery from illness and her penchant for breaking into hospitals. Funny and often bittersweet, the show was nominated for New Writing South’s Best New Play award at the 2017 Brighton Fringe. There will be an afternoon and evening show, with a relaxed performance in the afternoon and crèche facilities on offer to allow parents the opportunity to enjoy the show whilst children are cared for.
In the second debut solo show of the season, cabaret star Fancy Chance will be globe-trotting and time-travelling in Flights of Fancy on Wednesday 7th March, as she takes the audience from her origins as a Korean refugee to the present day as a darling of the London cabaret scene. In a very personal true story, Fancy Chance asks who she might have been if she hadn’t been adopted by a white American family and found her home as a performer in the capital.
To Helen Back with Helen Seymour
Following the success of her debut show Muvvahood, Stratford Circus Arts Centre Associate Artist Libby Liburd unveils fascinating stories of female boxers, in a work-in-progress performance of her new show. Staged on International Women’s Day (Thursday 8th March), Fighter draws on Libby’s own experiences in the ring as well as those of the pioneers who punched the glass ceiling.
Completing the week on Friday 9th March, Benin City’s Shanaz Dorsett will perform her first solo headline show and launch her debut EP Cake. Through lo-fi electronica and nostalgic R’n’B sounds, and via influences that include Amy Winehouse, Kelis and Frank Ocean, Cake tells three intimate stories of coming of age, delving into body image, domesticity and female sexuality.
Stratford Circus Arts Centre is a vibrant place to create and experience art through world-class theatre, dance, music and circus and visual exhibitions, alongside work for families and young people.
More info: stratford-circus.com
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