Newcastle Herstory Programme
Ahead of Herstory in Newcastle & Exeter, take a peek at our programme to see what’s in store! Below is the full programme of festivities happening in Newcastle City Library on Wednesday 23 March. All events will be in-person, with the events on the Atrium Stage available to stream via our free online tickets.
Book your free tickets to Herstory Newcastle here.
Evening events
Atrium Stage
Welcome from Herstory Newcastle
Kick off the festival with Newcastle native Louise Young – one of the brightest new names on the comedy circuit and our MC for the evening.
18:45, on-site and via online stream
How far have we come since the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970s?
Trustee and founding member of Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland Penny Remfry has been actively involved in women’s liberation since the 1970s. Join her for this discussion of the movement and its demands, and discover some of her incredible personal archive of campaign posters. Taking in the struggles for anti-colonial, anti-imperial and workers’ as well as women’s rights – how far have we come in fifty years of protest?
19:00, on-site and via online stream
Herstory Newcastle Poets
Hear new poems by Ellen Moran, Sky Hawkins and Degna Stone – all specially commissioned for Herstory Newcastle and inspired by the poets’ work with local communities as well as the British Library’s Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights exhibition. Ellen is moved by themes of protest, and specifically everyday acts of resistance; Sky considers the strength, worth and agency of women’s bodies; and Degna draws on the practice of manifesto-making and the concept of the ‘seventh generation.’ The poets are joined in discussion with Chair of Virago Press and Poet in the City’s board of trustees Lennie Goodings and British Library curator Polly Russell who will also give an overview of the Unfinished Business exhibition.
20:00, on-site and via online stream
JazzWitch
Jazz Witch is a live risqué soiree from poet and activist Radikal Queen incorporating song, spoken word, and digital media to explore the myth, the truth, and the taboo of love, creativity, and systemic power. Mixing classic jazz, funk, and African Futurist psychedelia with stories and banter, Jazz Witch centres Black MaGe (marginalised genders) experiences, and speaks with an irrepressible, pioneering and extraordinary voice.
21:00, on-site and via online stream
Poetic Chronicles and music to end the evening
Herstory Newcastle’s Poetic Chronicler Kirsten Luckins closes the festival with a new piece of work composed on the night and in reaction to the evening’s discussions, performances and happenings – a unique reflection on the Herstory experience.
21:45, on-site and via online stream
Level 1 Library Space
Discover Your Inner Pirate
Embrace your inner pirate and smash the patriarchy whilst learning all about famous female pirate, dissident and rebel, Anne Bonny in this fun drop-in workshop with theatre maker, performer and artist Lindsay Nicholson. Dress up, design a flag, explore your own brand of piracy feminism and plot ways to challenge the status quo by causing some good trouble. Rebels, Cast Off!* *Pirate speak.
18:30
Meeting Room
Witch Trials
Take in an immersive audio play telling the story of the Newcastle Witch Trials in 1650 from theatre company Hellcat Theatre Company.
18:30
Bewick Hall
Say It With Your Chest,
Manifestos aren’t just for politicians who play fast and loose with the truth. Why not create your own personal manifesto and take back a little control over how you live your life? The poet Julia Darling once said: “I like the word Manifesto very much. It’s powerful and makes me think of women on horses.” You might prefer a different term, like ‘Advice for Living’ and who couldn’t do with a bit of that right now? Join poet Degna Stone for this manifesto-making workshop where through conversation and writing exercises we’ll soon set our little corner of the world right.
18:45
dare you: Question The Love Between Girls
Join What’s That Dance for a screening of their short film dare you: Question The Love Between Girls followed by an all ages and all abilities movement workshop to connect and empower women. Exploring discomfort, relentlessness and defiance, What’s That Dance’s duet seeks to challenge the painful and uncomfortable parts that come with being a queer woman; to find joy in the sadness, tenderness and community. The workshop will end with a discussion on the themes of the piece and what we can do to make women, particularly queer women, feel safe and cared for in our city.
20:15
Level 1 Café
We are Ferocity
Come along to the cafe to get your own Welcome to Our City paper guide featuring the work of writer and creative producer Bridget Hamilton and ten young people from Excelsior College in Newcastle’s West End. Together they have collaborated to design a city which is safe for women and marginalised communities – explore their new utopia and imagine what your own might look like.
18:30
Level 2 Café
Rebuilding the City Through Stories of Care: a listening, talking and making space
What might a city that really cares about women look like? In this friendly space, created with artists Sophie Crocker and Georgia Bates, and co-hosted by Maddy Costa, women’s groups from east and west Newcastle share stories of care that will become the building blocks of a new model city: an alternative Newcastle that really cares about women. Join them for a listen, a cuppa, and to add your stories to a landscape changing before your eyes.
19:00
Level 3 Promenade
Protest Library
Protest Library is a mini-exhibition and performance space exploring women’s protest in the North East and inspired by poet and performer Ellen Moran’s work with communities in the East End of Newcastle. Join Ellen as she leads you through the ephemera of protest, triggering poems inspired by the experiences of rule-breaking lasses, and thinking deeply about what it means to stand up for your rights.
19:00
Poets Corner
Poet in the City Producers present: What a Woman!
What a Woman! invites everyone to come celebrate everything and anything that contributes to what it means to be a woman. From Mary Prince to Marsha P Johnson, Anne Frank to Amanda Gorman, these people highlight the diversity of femininity and feminine expression. Our brilliant line up features poets Rue Collinge and Tahmina Ali, and musician Kay Greyson, artists from our own communities in Newcastle who inspire us with their own unique experiences of womanhood in their work. Come along and be inspired too, maybe bring someone who also inspires you. Throughout the event experience storytelling sound installation from performance-maker, sound designer, and composer Alexis Beaufoy-Salguero.
20:00
Day events
Rebuilding the City Through Stories of Care: a listening, talking and making space
In this friendly space, created with artists Sophie Crocker and Georgia Bates, and hosted by Maddy Costa, women’s groups from east and west Newcastle share stories of care that will become the building blocks of a new model city: an alternative Newcastle that really cares about women. Join them for a listen, a cuppa, and to add your stories to a landscape changing before your eyes.
14:00, Level 2 Café, book via Eventbrite ticket here
