You’ve got to fight for your rights
Door open to fresh drama contributors
Waihi Drama Society president Lucy James said 2024 marked 131 years of women’s suffrage in Aotearoa. “At the time of women getting the vote in Aotearoa New Zealand, these women gave new hope and light to other women around the world, still struggling for emancipation.”
Accordingly, Waihi Drama Society was proud to present a production of That Bloody Woman, written by Luke Di Somma and Gregory Cooper.
The show is framed as a rock concert for Kate Sheppard and her “gang” to tell her story and the story of New Zealand’s suffrage, taking on
the anti-suffrage Prime Minister of the day, Richard “King Dick” Seddon.
But behind the public persona Kate’s personal life was in turmoil — trapped in a loveless marriage, in love with her best friend and deprived of her only child.
That Bloody Woman director, Bianca Till, is an experienced theatre
practitioner, a Waihi Drama Society committee member and a trustee of Youth Theatreworks.
“Bianca knows that getting a show like this on to the stage requires a community effort,” James said.
Till will be supported by the Waihi Drama Society as well as Youth Theatreworks Waihi, which hopes to encourage the community’s teenagers to become part of this fabulous ensemble cast and crew.
There has been a call out for Waihi Drama Society members to help create the full production team with crucial roles for lighting, set construction, costume, make-up, hair, and front of house, so get in touch through the Waihi Drama Society website if you think you want to be part of this fabulously written rock musical production.
Senior students from our local colleges are also encouraged to be part of the production — with ensemble, band and choreography opportunities available.
“We are telling this story because it’s important that we remember this fight for women’s rights, especially at a time when there is still so much inequity in the world.
“We’ve also discovered that our members have family members who signed the petitions back in the late 1800s. Over the seven-year campaign 31,872 signatures were collected across 13 petitions, resulting in women getting the vote in New Zealand in 1893.”
Put a tick in your diary, October at the Waihi Theatre in Boyd Rd.