Now I Saw Them.
Una Dugdale Duval in ‘The Music Room’ by Ethel Smith
Last Wednesday I experienced one of the most beautifully curated exhibitions I’ve had the great fortune to witness at Tate Britain. It was called, “Now You See Us’.
I usually pop a social media posting online, whenever I’ve been enriched by a cultural offering, but on this occasion, I was overwhelmed and unsure how to begin.
The exhibition examines the art of 100 women, who created work between 1520 and 1920, often struggling to carve out careers as artists - but nevertheless, they persisted!
The first woman whose work resonated with me was Esther Inglis who lived in Edinburgh in the 1570s, creating beautifully illustrated books of poetry and psalms.
Esther also created miniature self-portraits, placing herself within manuscripts that she'd crafted, these tiny etchings of her own face showed the world who the artist was.
A little further along in the gallery, I learned the story of Gwen John and I couldn't help but wonder if Esther had been attempting to make herself visible, just as Gwen went on to do many years later.
Perhaps it’s one of the reasons she’s the 'poster girl' for 'Now You See Us'.
In 1900, Gwen John was one of 16 women asked to participate in the ‘New English Art Club’ exhibition.
The women were asked to exhibit their work anonymously. Those exhibiting could send any painting they wished.
She wasn’t allowed to sign her own painting so Gwen chose to send a self-portrait.
‘Self Portrait’ Gwen John
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom”
- Anais Nin
These two artists, Esther and Gwen, stopped me in my tracks - the art they created was intriguing, and their bold efforts to be seen as the makers of their own art, and not anonymous women, were insistent.
My hat was high.
Of course, in an exhibition of 100 artists there were many of them who’s work grabbed my imagination, but for the purposes of not making this posting as long as the internet itself I’ll limit myself to mentioning another three.
And the first is Elinor Proby Adams. She was one of the earliest cohorts of women to attend The Slade School of Fine Art. One of her paintings was a nude, entitled ‘Female Seated Figure’. This offering was unusual for the time - bizarrely women sitting and painting in still life classes was deeply frowned upon.
Imagine not being trusted to draw women’s bodies as a female artist.
Somehow Elinor found a way!
Elinor Proby Adams - ‘Female Seated Figure’
“When we exclude half of humanity from the production of knowledge, we lose out on potentially transformational insights”
Caroline Criado Perez
Slade Art School - Class Photograph 1905
From the 1850s onwards, women would begin to put their feet to the streets in our struggle for equal rights.
During the first two decades of the 20th century, a brave new world was beginning to evolve.
But it didn’t happen overnight or without a fight.
So, in September 2024, as I stood in front of this photo, in an exhibition at Tate Britain I found it difficult to compose myself.
Just look at them.
The world was beginning to change and Slade Art School was at the vanguard of those changes with a cohort of groundbreaking world-class artists!
And not too far from this photograph hung the work of Ethel Wright.
Her painting ‘The Music Room’, showed the women’s rights activist, Una Dugdale Duval resplendent in suffrage colours, created during the same year the national press got themselves in a flap over Una’s controversial pamphlet ‘Love & Honour but NOT Obey’.
It was the final painting in the exhibition.
Ethel Wright - Suffragette Painter
By 1912, the women of art were boldly sticking two stiff fingers directly up at any who’d held them back for so long - these artists not only joined the struggle, they often led the way. Their work certainly influenced how the public viewed the suffrage movement and, in fact, how the women of the movement saw themselves.
A very controversial pamphlet for its time by suffragette and women’s rights activist Una Dugdale Duval
Ethel Wright's ‘The Music Room’
Ethel was an accomplished portrait artist and an illustrator of some note. Her portraits included one of the firebrand suffragette Christabel Pankhurst which remains in the National Portrait Gallery to this day.
There’s a well-used and popular saying: “If you can see it you can be it” - women of art, such as Esther, Gwen, Elinor, Ethel and the entire 1905 cohort of the Slade School of Art, blazed a trail that could be seen for hundreds of years after their time here on earth. It'll go on being seen for many more years too.
So, 400 years after Esther Inglis placed her miniature portrait inside her exquisite poetical manuscripts I got to see her and I loved what I saw.
Perhaps their message is that we all have a duty to be seen when we offer work to the world. You never know who might be watching - 400 years down the line!
Side Effects
Arts comrades come with a variety of symptoms:
Supportive interventions
Great conversations
Jolly nights out
Projects that will be a ton of fun when tackled together
Strengthened connections
These sort of symptoms appear after years of working together and from the deep honesty of interaction this can promote.
During the past five weeks, this has been the case in my own work.
In July, I was invited to record a series of PODCASTS on ‘Women of Activism in British History’ with my long time arts-comrade Ruth Urquhart.
And right at the close of August, I was lucky enough to be asked to get involved in the latest film of another talented arts-comrade, Jane McGee.
For my own part, the entire summer of 2024 has involved ‘fingers of fire’ being applied to my keyboard with work on my first book ‘Discovering Joan’ gathering apace.
The book is a true story about a radical working-class woman who changed the face of British theatre and scorched the ‘rule book’ to ashes in order to do it.
It’s been a joy, and I’ll be beavering away into September too.
But, I digress!
My point is, the friends we make across the years in this crazy game can occasionally provide challenges and excitements which create a solidarity which is all too rare in the world.
My point? Cherish it.
Gather yourself with the colleagues who sing to your soul, whether it be that you are lit up by their ideas or they are are lit up by yours. Make these people your tribe. Add time and effort in the friendship part and always be wholly yourself, socially and politically - then magical, authentic things can begin to unfold.
So, watch out for Ruth’s podcast and Jane’s film (more info, nearer to their completion, on this blog).
I’d also like to add; with or without me, these creative projects will absolutely knock you bandy.
“We all have parts that scare us, parts that we run from and parts that we’re afraid to look at”
“Conscious art, political art leads to the necessity and desire for change”
Get It Here.
I made a bit of an error yesterday, by starting a private social media group in the gradual run up to the completion of my book ‘Discovering Joan’ - it was a daft move because I have this blog, which I haven’t fully become used to yet. Doh!
So now Im going to write a weekly or bi-weekly blog and simply share it on the group.
Menopause brain.
“We have to laugh, because laughter we already know, is the first evidence of freedom”
After all of the laughing I did at myself, I resolved to share some titbits from the book as well as write some things about the writing process itself a couple of times a week. then advance that onto how I go about the self-publishing process and beyond that the dreaded marketing!
AAARGH!
From fascination, to side hustle, to documentary, to archive, to book.
So, I’ve decided to share a couple of book based blogs a week for the time being, until something shifts.
Next blog will be this Saturday…
The Whitby Intervention
Back in June, my partner Dave and I took a well-earned break and headed off to Whitby in Gothic Yorkshire. I’d been writing for a few months and frankly it had all become a bit of an unfortunate slog, so a few days of sniffing the briny, riding steam trains, frequenting spooky tumble-down abbeys and walking cliff paths seemed like it’d be ‘just what the doctor ordered’. It was, but not in a way I’d expected.
That steep cliff to Whitby Abbey is an exorcism all of its own!
Shadows and stones cast their ancient spell.
We returned refreshed and the following day (30th June) I returned to my laptop-based task.
I started with a read-through of what I had so far.
I positively ploughed through the thing.
What a load of cobblers!
So I put the entire manuscript (whatever you want to call it!) into the trash can and I hit ‘DELETE’!
BEST MOVE I EVER MADE.
Cathartic. Cleansing. Clarifying.
Do her a favour!
That afternoon I set to work with a renewed focus, drive and vision for what the book ‘Discovering Joan’ really had to be.
A new over-riding theme.
I’d got my ‘vomit draft’ out. And clearly it had needed to come out! But now I was free.
For the last eight weeks I’ve rebuilt the book from scratch and I am happy. I don’t struggle with it, I enjoy every second of the process. Some days I worry cos it’s flown out and I’ve felt like a passenger on the book’s journey, then I check back over it and it’s fine.
And I press on.
This has been the culmination of a project that spent its first five years of life as a side-hustle, then it consumed me for another five years, taking over my life at one point, and for the last few years it’s been troubling me as I tried to work out how to bid it farewell in the most respectful way.
I found that way with the book wot I’m writing.
Now, back to the keyboard!
NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS…WHERE’S THE PODCAST?
A blog detailing an upcoming podcast about women of activism
At the end of June, I sat in the vocal recording booth of my arts comrade, Ruth Urquhart (the Tartan Chameleon herself) and we played with ideas for our upcoming podcast.
We intend to chat about the lives of many of the women of activism, from the early twentieth century, up to the present day - with one or two women from the days of yore thrown in for good measure.
Why bother making the rules if you don’t intend to have fun breaking em?
The main thing we found ourselves doing, during ‘podcast practice’, was laughing. Laughing until our laughers could take no more. At one point, we became hysterical, then leaned into that hysteria, reclaiming it, like it was going out of fashion. We could barely breathe, so there was a lot of gasping and panting going on in that booth. Anyone passing by might have wondered what on earth we were getting up to in there.
I believe our laughter was partly triggered by the fact we’d locked eyes as we strove to maintain a veneer of “sounding professional” during some ‘intro’ and ‘outro’ recordings - this could certainly have been the trigger-point for our descent into uncontrollable, hysterical laughter, because we momentarily saw each other - and what we saw was a right pair of tits.
Looking back, it also seemed as though the foremothers of activism had somehow conspired to reach through the vortex and tickle our funny-bones, having collectively decided that any such podcasting experiment ought to be a laughter revolution in the name their job done well - a party of celebratory joy.
And yet another reason we got hysterical is neither of us are known to be ‘fact machines’, or fax machines, or for that matter, fart machines - well, maybe the latter, but I digress.
The point is, we’re not a pair of professors or a couple of women’s history experts, we’re more your keen arts-comrade sorts, and we’re both as much about activism as we are about arty endeavours.
To be clear, we weren’t being disrespectful - far from it - we look up to the women who sacrificed time, energy and sometimes even their freedom in an effort to make the lives of we who’ve followed just that little bit better and more equal.
Those marvellous radical fore-sisters.
But one final potential reason for our imprompu visit to the laughter-pole, could be our friendship. We’ve been mates since about 1890, which is a long time to have a friend who enjoys taking the piss as much as you do.
Across the years, we’ve written, performed, devised and facilitated work together and as individual practitioners. We’ve produced plays and films within varying communities, as well as with actors (somebody had to), and we’ve created and developed workshop experiences and pop-up street theatre events.
So, that’s the experience we bring - many years of doing that sort of thing and more and now we approach a podcast, to see how the land lies in that world.
You can only be who you are and I’d say Ruth and I are a pair of radical arts-sorts, who like to have a laugh and get fun out of immersive research, especially when we’re wearing our zip-up anoraks.
During this celebratory offering, we’ll attempt to share titillating titbits of tittle-tattle alongside some novel nuggets of news as we natter on about the lives of awe-inspiring women from the history of activism - women who set our proud and mighty chests a-thumping.
“Conscious art. Political art leads to the necessity and the desire for change”
In addition, we might do some read-throughs of scenes we’ve written, or are currently working on (about these fore-sisters). And we might also include the odd book review!
So, prepare yourself for a laughter-fuelled pod, that joyfully shares snapshots from the lives of phenomenal women and ‘drops’ in early 2025.
“Education is not a mere process of stuffing heads with facts; it is the training of the mind to think”
- Ellen Wilkinson (who led the Jarrow marchers)
Tea With Mrs Pankhurst
Podcasting About Women of Activism
A statue of Emmeline Pankhurst, the mother of the suffragette movement, which can be found in St Peter’s Square, Manchester.
Emmeline Pankhurst was the obvious woman of activism to select as a starting point for the podcast ‘Tea With Mrs Pankhurst’ which takes a gander at women of activism from the point of view of a pair of arts comrades. Without tea.
At the turn of the twentieth century, alongside her three daughters, Mrs Pankhurst led the suffragette crusade to gain “Votes for Women” - she was co-founder of the Women’s Social & Political Union (along with her beloved daughter, Christabel).
Mrs Pankhurst is manhandled by police at a suffragette demonstration.
One of the most satisfying aspects of the time we spent finding our way into this podcast, was the comparing of research notes, as well as the making of new discoveries.
Having both done a good bit of work around the women’s suffrage movement, we were able to recall inspiring moments from plays and workshops we’d worked on.
The main one being Ruth’s play, ‘Tea With Mrs Pankhurst’ which focusses on the contribution of suffragettes and suffragists alike in the battle to get women the vote.
Tea With Mrs Pankhurst had been a decade-long community touring project of Ruth’s - she wanted to spread the word about both the suffragettes and the suffragists as widely as possible. We fondly recalled the cast and just how much dedicated effort they’d brought to the creation of these characters, truly getting under their skin. Scottish actor, Lori Mclean was pitch-perfect as Mrs Pankhurst and Yorkshire actor Nicki Vincent inhabited the role of suffragist, Selina Cooper. London actor, Colleen Daley was also impressive, playing multiple characters and giving the art of the quick change a run for its money!
We discussed many aspects of the story of Mrs Pankhurst; the things we admired about her; the things we found difficult to swallow. But we finally concluded, just as Ruth’s play does, that whatever else, they each did their bit.
And then some.
“I intend to come to London to put an end to an intolerable situation and resume my position as an ordinary human being in this country”
ALWAYS WITH THE CAPERS
Over the years, Ruth and I have managed, on multiple occasions, to get ourselves into a bit of a pickle.
One such occasion was a ‘Tea With Mrs Pankhurst’ rehearsal in the cheapest building which could be located - a scout hut on a Yorkshire moor top in the dead of winter. I still have nightmares about carrying that sack of coal for two miles uphill, because the road was impassable, only to discover there was no fireplace in the hut.
But there was a massive electric tea-urn which Mrs Pankhurst (Lori Mclean) managed to turn on (filled up to the brim with water) as we rehearsed. So immersed in the 1900’s was she that the tea-urn was forgotten about. It was only during a scene in a cafe when the scout hut filled up like a steam-room, she remembered she’d planned to make us all a brew. After a very steamy women’s suffrage meeting was adjourned.
Capers have been a bit of a theme.
During one caper at ‘Ormesby Hall’, near Middlesborough in 2013, we realised we might need a bit of kit to make the magic happen. Nevertheless, we attempted to give off a veneer of professionalism. We think we got away with it.
And so, last week we were pleasantly surprised that the worst fate to befall us during our podcast, was an attack of hysteria each time we tried to make a “serious and professional” intro and outro reel.
You just can’t get the staff.
However, when it came time to share our thoughts and feelings surrounding the contribution of Emmeline Pankhurst to the campaign to achieve the vote for women, we were on it like a Shakespeare sonnet. It was a complete pleasure to have a natter about the mother of the suffragette movement.
The “Tea With Mrs Pankhurst’ podcast will be released in early 2025, by which time we hope to have an entire series of women to share with YOU, our beloved listener.
We appreciate you Maureen.
Radical Womanhood
Reclaim the labels
Selina Cooper (second from right) Suffragist and Peace Activist.
Today I’m headed to Scotland for the purpose of nattering excitedly about women of activism, for a couple of days.
I’ll be joining my long-time arts comrade Ruth Urquhart in her ‘studio of the voice’ and offering my dulcet Geordie tones to the mix for our emerging podcast, which hopefully won’t bust-up her mics.
Ruth and I engaging in that well-known vocal warm up, ‘gurning’.
It’s important to note, since our podcast is about women from across history, that I’m no historian, or any sort of fact machine for that matter.
So why do it Wendy, you massive tool?
Well, I’ve been inspired by our radical foremothers since I was knee-high to a dragonfly.
In my teens, I joined ‘North Tyneside Youth Theatres’ - they put on ‘Emily’ a play about Emily Wilding Davison, the Longhorsely suffragette, who went on hunger strike several times during the campaign to get women the vote, and was killed on Derby Day, 1913 by the King’s horse Amner.
I played Christabel Pankhurst in that play - and she made some absolutely banging speeches about women’s rights and the vote, so I became aware, at an early age, that in order to change anything you have to raise your voice and put your feet to the street.
Years later, I found out how Christabel and her mother, the great Emmeline Pankhurst, had behaved towards their own family member, Sylvia, and between this and their position on war, I could no longer align myself with their doings or connect with them politically. However, it took nothing from my respect for their early activism and the impact they made on our right to vote.
People are complex.
Over the years, I became aware of many more inspirational women, partly through my own development of women’s workshops and the odd pop-up performance event and partly through my involvement in Ruth’s play ‘Tea With Mrs Pankhurst’ - which was the reason I became aware of Selina Cooper and the suffragist movement. A lot of brilliant books have now been written about suffragists, but in 2001, little was available, Ruth did an incredible job of raising this awareness and took the play on a huge community and schools tour for well over a decade.
Also about a decade ago, on social media, I did a series of postings called ‘Woman of the Day’ - I’d select a woman of activism, share a photo and write a few paragraphs about why they inspired me. It went down quite well with my social media friends.
Now, Ruth wants to make a podcast about women of activism, offering a few facts followed by a bit of a natter, during which we’ll share how each activist inspired us and how vitally important it is to share our thoughts, feelings and even perceived connections to these radical foremothers of British activism.
The inauguration of the “pussy-grabber” - early 2017 - we turned up to object along with one or two (hundred thousand) others.
So! Our podcast will begin with the sisters who got active in the year 1900 and it’ll work its way back to the present day - passing through 124 years of women’s activism as it does. (“Great Scott Marty, we’ve got to get back to the future!”)
We will begin with the suffragettes and suffragists, and decade by decade we’ll chinwag and rabbit and yarn about the movers, shakers, movements and change-makers that dedicate their lives to making ours that little bit better.
There’s gonna be a lot of chit-chat.
And I can’t wait, so gaffer-tape the mics to the poles Ruth, we’re going in!
Sylvia Pankhurst, we’ll have a job ‘zipping our lids’ when it comes to this wonder-woman. How she inspires us!
Deep in the Mix
Plodding onwards.
I’m currently deep in the mix with ‘Discovering Joan’, my deeply unofficial book which dares to share anecdotes about the foremother of radical theatre, Joan Littlewood.
All that and the voices of those who knew, loved and worked with the foremother of people’s theatre too.
It’s been a bottom-clenching experience, writing the book, especially having restarted the process in late June, due to deciding the first draft wasn’t anywhere near what I’d like to read myself and moving directly to draft two - a clean slate.
BEST DECISION EVER
I’m past the halfway mark once again, only this time I feel positive about the whole thing!
With this draft, I’ve resolved to not pressure myself with timelines.
No timelines. No deadlines. No guidelines.
When it’s done, it’s done.
As the evergreen Jimmy Sangster once put it: “Do you want it good, or do you want it Tuesday?” - wise words Jimmy, wise words indeed.
Watch out for the next update, which will let you know the book is ready,
Get ready for my findings about the philosophy, politics and practices of Joan Littlewood.
“It’s rare that something worthwhile comes easily”
5 Reasons You Might Enjoy ‘Discovering Joan - A Deeply Unofficial Book’
5 Things You Might Like to Know About ‘Discovering Joan - A Deeply Unofficial Book’
Joan talking to the gang at a cafe
‘Discovering Joan - A Deeply Unofficial Book’ will be ready for you to grab during the Summer of 2024. This book is an opportunity to share much of what I learnt about the philosophy, politics and ever-evolving practice of Joan Littlewood whilst I worked on a 14 year archive and documentary project which celebrates her legacy. Here are 5 reasons you might enjoy the read...
Are you a devotee of change-making theatre rebels? If yes, then have I got news for you! This book contains anecdotes spanning 5 decades of the work based offerings of Joan Littlewood, foremother of radical people’s theatre. It includes tales of ‘Uranium 235’ a post World War II anti-nuclear play by Ewan MacColl, and how, at one unlikely venue, the company was assisted with a quick ‘get out’ by a helpful troupe of all-in-wrestlers. And if you’re not intrigued to learn more about that sort of thing, this is not the book for you.
If you’re a risk enthusiast, then details about Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop taking a production of Macbeth behind the Iron Curtain during the mid-1950s at the height of the Cold War, when she was already being watched by MI5 will seem like the story for you, and perhaps you’ll be feverish with glee as you learn such tales as the fate of actors Glynn Edwards, Richard Harris and Brian Murphy when they missed their train to Zurich after alighting for a quick bite somewhere on the railway tracks of France.
3. If you’re a people’s theatre aficionado, you’ll be fully absorbed by tales of the dedicated efforts of Joan and her company to stay on the road despite being totally skint, during their early touring years. Leading to the time they managed to somehow acquisition and repurpose a glut of tomatoes, resulting in an evening in the cells and a huge amount of soup. If you’re not a fan of misappropriated soup, this is not the book for you.
4. If you’re a cheerleader for supporting working-class writers in the sharing of their stories, then break out the pom-poms, because Joan Littlewood certainly opened doors to talents such as Brendan Behan, Shelagh Delaney, Frank Norman and Stephen Lewis - each set the world of theatre ablaze with their offerings. This book features memories from company members who worked with Joan as she platformed each of these writers.
5. If you’re a fun enthusiast, just wait until you hear some of the ways in which Joan threw her company in at the deep end; including sending a brood of chickens onstage during a live performance of George Bernard Shaw’s ‘Arms and the Man’, chaos ensued and the audience were left rolling in the aisles - despite the seriousness of the work she always found ways to incorporate fun into proceedings - injecting thunderbolts of energy into live performance. If you’re not a fan of fun, this is not the book for you.
When the hat is off, there’s trouble brewing!
“Speak up, you’re on internet radio”
There’s going to be a podcast about inspiring women of activism, this pair of fools are involved.
There’s going to be a podcast.
“Which end do I blow into?”
To begin, it will be populated by two middle-aged sorts who plan to blather and chatter yer lugs bandy when it comes to how inspired they are by women of activism.
“Does my voice look big in this?”
We promise to keep it focussed and any spontaneous sing-songs will be kept to a bare minimum, unless, of course we can’t help but honour a wonder-woman of integrity and determination, whose doings were so magnificent that only a sing-song will suffice - under those circumstances it’s possible we could break into a forgettable rendition of ‘Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves’.
Possible but unlikely…
So what WILL it be?
The truth is, we don’t really know until we start! What we do know is we will be sharing nuggets about women such as The Pankhursts (good luck stopping us when we get to Sylvia), Ellen Wilkinson, Edith Craig, the Peace Pilgrims and Joan Littlewood.
We’re starting in the UK at the turn of the 20th century and seeing where our noses take us.
We think we’ll share some nuggets of information, then respond to them in the form of ‘schnifter-yarn’.
We aren’t simply riding tandem either, we’re to be joined by the magnificent Nicki Vincent and Lori Mclean who are guaranteed to bring magic to proceedings. goddess knows Ruth and I need all the help we can get!
Anyway, the first round is happening in late July, in the South West Scottish town, Fleetwood of Mac. (The place they don’t stop thinkin’ about tomorrow) This is the location at which Dame Ruth Urquhart has a fully-functioning studio at her fingertips, so it’d be rude not to haul-arse across the border to the land of my mother and yarn into a mic, until the Highland Cows start heading home.
“There’s going to be a good old-fashioned hole digging”
Any further information will be wrapped up with your chips.
Watch this space for an eventual link.