Taking The Stage 2022

This is our second festival celebrating women playwrights and directors. Our first took place in September 2019 and feedback told us you wanted more. We ere encourage to build on the great success of the first festival and expand with more plays, discussions and films. This festival is therefore longer than our first – fours days instead of three with an incredible line up of eight new plays, a newly devised piece by students with Haste Theatre Company and an afternoon of African films by women writers and directors. Then there were discussion panels, workshops and keynote speeches. Like out first festival our aim was to tell hidden stories. The festival opened with a keynote speech by April De Angelis followed by a performance of “Tapestry” by Chloe Todd Fordham and a panel Q & A chaired by April De Angelis after the show.

April De Angelis - Reflections (on being a woman playwright)

April De Angelis is a British dramatist who began her career as an actress with the Monstrous Regiment theatre company in 1987. She began writing plays in 1987 and her work includes Jumpy, Breathless, Women in Law, Wanderlust, Visitants, Ironmistress, Crux, Frankenstein, The Life and Times of Fanny Hill, Hush, Greed, Soft Vengeance, Playhouse Creatures, The Positive Hour, A Warwickshire Testimony, A Laughing Matter, Headstrong, Wild East, Catch, and Wuthering Heights.

Rosemary Hill - Curator, Producer and Director

Rosemary first worked as an English and Drama teacher and then trained as an actor at the Drama Studio, London. She worked briefly on the London fringe before accepting a job at the BBC as a director and producer where she worked for twelve wonderful years in radio and TV and in both drama and documentary. Her work took her all over the world, often working in challenging environments making programmes about controversial issues such as FGM, HIV and motherhood, maternal health, women’s rights and girls’ education in developing countries. She went freelance in 1999 and continues to work in the media where she has produced award winning programmes for BBC World Service and BBC Education. She has also made several short films. Her first love though is the theatre and she founded The Play’s The Thing Theatre Company in 2008. Rosemary has wide experience in directing ranging from Shakespeare, Ibsen and Chekhov to more modern classics such as Abigail’s Party by Mike Leigh and of course plays by remarkable women playwrights such as Bryony Lavery, Caryl Churchill and Timberlake Wertenbaker. She has also directed new work and is passionate about creating more opportunities for women playwrights, directors and actors. Rosemary is also very interested in mental health and last year she qualified as a psychotherapeutic counsellor after three years of training. She now works for Mind and YiS (Youth Counselling) part time and has a private practice. Rosemary is a member of Stage Directors UK and Equity.

Tamsyn Payne - Production Manager

Tamsyn lives and works in Northampton and is passionate about the local arts scene. She studied Fine Art and found her way to the stage through designing then directing for community theatre. She has over the last 20 years run art gallery venues (Fishmarket and NN), comedy clubs (Screaming Blue Murder, Purple Monkey) and produced work on the Edinburgh Fringe (with GSOH). More recently she has worked in film as a designer with Screen Northants (her first feature Fortune Cookies is out soon) and as local casting and 2nd Assistant Director (Alan Moore’s The Show, SAS Red Notice). She also runs community projects as Red Rumpus and has produced various cross-generational creative projects including a 100 Years of Northampton a potted history on a catwalk, Eclectic Catwalk a charity shop fashion show with Age UK and the lockdown youth project Club Apocalypso.

Taking the Stage: Women in Performing Arts Festival April 2022

I was able to attend the first two nights of this festival. Having been to the October 2019 festival, I was impressed how Rosemary Hill’s commitment to developing this important platform for women in theatre, as writers, producers, directors, designers and actors, to give women voice and creative expression in so many ways, is gathering momentum.
The curation of the launch event was engaging in both its range and its quality. From the inspiring opening talk on the journey of a woman playwright by April de Angelis, to the play Tapestry by playwright Chloe Todd Fordham tackling challenging issues of power, celebrating community action and the friendship and collaboration of women, followed by the interesting panel discussion after, the impact was a very engaged, energetic and inspired audience.
Rosemary had partnered very creatively with MK Gallery for the launch event, using the Sky Room space in a very interesting and unusual way so the audience felt very close to the excellent actors, almost part of a circle, creating a real intimacy and buzz. It felt like a real privilege to be there, in that circle.
With this festival, audiences (and Milton Keynes) benefit from Rosemary’s wide ranging contacts as evidenced by the talk by the playwright and the excellent quality of the actors, and by her long and important commitment to developing the cultural landscape in Milton Keynes. The Tapestry theme of the play on Wednesday was enhanced by the work of local makers working together with textile artist Jane Charles to create a splendid quilt central to the staging.
When I attended Hidden Voices on the second night I was moved and inspired to see how Rosemary champions equality and supports emerging talent, with a particular focus on inclusion and diversity, enabling the local voice of women, building their self-belief in their creative voice, supporting their creative writing and directing their performance. This is powerfully evidenced with Lisa Lovell’s performance of her play Daughter Of The Waves. And I so admired the final play and performance by Subika Anwar Khan of her play Echo.

Francesca Skelton - Arts and Heritage Alliance (AHA)

Lack of theatre opportunities for women worsened by pandemic, warn writers

Giverny Masso - The Stage

Taking The Stage celebrating women in the performing arts kicks off with an inspiring keynote speech by April de Angelis that manages to reflect not just only on one woman’s journey as a playwright, but prevalent key social and political issues.

Kelly Bradley

Amazing project- thanks so much Rosemary and of course the wonderful funders and supporters.

Jane Charles

You are a true artist and professional. Thanks you for all you do for the artistic community in Milton Keynes and beyond.

Faisal Mohiuddin

You literally blow my mind.

Lisa Stenhouse

Brilliant. Well done, Rosemary. Your energy always astounds me.

Theresa Kelleher

An absolutely amazing festival. You should be incredibly proud of yourself. Your work ethic is incredible.

Carly Halse

Thank you facilitating a wonderful performance opportunity for MK College students. They miss you.

Colin Ray

It was a magnificent achievement and I was delighted to play a small part in it. I look forward to working with you more in the future.

Sarah Berger

Honestly tremendous, huge achievement from you and your team. Thank you for pulling it all together in tough times.

Linda Cartwright

Thank you, Rosemary Hill. What a wonderful project in a time when theatre is needed more than ever. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to work with amazing people.

Lisa Lovell