Women in the spotlight

The Customs House will shine a spotlight on the lives of five extraordinary women as part of Women’s History Month in March. Wanted will be performed by Gazebo Theatre on Monday, March 9, at 7.30pm, as part of a national tour celebrating the company’s 40th anniversary. In Wanted, an all-female creative team explore the stories of sometimes overlooked historical figures Irena Sendler, Olive Morris, Phoolan Devi and Dr James Barry. Writer and performer, Tonia DaleyCampbell, said:

“We wanted to tell a story about women who have been wanted – wanted by the police, by authorities and essentially locked up for acting upon what they believe is right.”

Polish social worker and humanitarian Irena Sendler rescued more than 2,500 children from the Warsaw ghetto during the Nazi occupation, while Olive Morris was a British Black Panther and avid activist for women and squatters’ rights in the 1970s. Phoolan Devi was an Indian bandit, born into poverty and kidnapped by bandits as a teenager, she spent 11 years in jail awaiting trial charged with 48 crimes before the state withdrew all charges against her in 1994. She later served as a member of parliament before being assassinated in 2001. Dr James Barry was born Margaret Ann Bukley in Cork, Ireland, but lived as a man in both public and private life, at least in part in order to be accepted as a university student and pursue a career as a surgeon. Her gender was only revealed after her death. The fifth woman is a fictional character in the modern day facing some of today’s problems.

She is a young female student and carer, who feels alone and isolated. Gazebo Theatre Artistic Director, Pamela Cole-Hudson, said: “Gazebo Theatre is proud to have produced and be touring this important work, which is educational, entertaining and most importantly, thought-provoking.”

Tickets, from £12, are available from the box office on (0191) 454 1234 or online at www.customshouse.co.uk.