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Wednesday, 05 March
Artist Interview
International Women's Day 2025
Inclusivity
Each year on International Women’s Day, we recognise and celebrate the incredible contributions of women across all fields—especially in the arts. This year’s theme, #AccelerateAction, calls on us to push forward, break barriers and drive meaningful change.
To mark the occasion, we asked some of our 2024/2025 season artists one powerful question:
"How do you use your art to drive meaningful action in areas you're passionate about?"
Their responses are a testament to the transformative power of creativity - showcasing how art can inspire social change, amplify voices and challenge the status quo. From advocating for gender equality to addressing ageism, these artists are using their platforms to make a difference.
Read on to discover how they are accelerating action one performance at a time.
"I am extremely passionate about representation. My jazz band is an all-female band. This is extremely rare within jazz. Whilst there are thousands of all-male bands in the UK, you could probably count the number of all-female jazz bands on one hand. Male band leaders, on the whole, aren’t hiring women instrumentalists. Singers, yes; instrumentalists, no. They might hire one or even two women, but the majority of jazz bands are still all-male or almost all-male. I am going against the grain in hiring female jazz musicians. Hopefully, this will encourage others to do the same."
(Ellie Dattani - Bandleader, Calypso Moon)
“When I first started working in theatre over 25 years ago it was noteworthy how many fewer roles "of substance" there were for women. Thankfully, much has changed over a quarter of a century! In my own work for Badapple Theatre, we have always created strong female roles within our storytelling. Our most recent plays, ‘The Thankful Village’ – the women of WW1 - and ‘Crumbs’ – our present-day one-woman live-baking show - are no exception. We always tour comedy, for all our rural audiences to have the best time, with women and men equally presented within our stories, as they should be in life.”
(Kate Bramley - Artistic Director for Badapple Theatre)
“I’m an ex-psychiatric nurse turned comedian. My act is a mix of comedy, poetry and theatre.
A mental health episode can happen to anyone, and when life does take us too seriously, we need good humour more than ever. I lead comedy workshops in mental health units, I’m the lead artist for the Comedy Asylum (comedy shows performed by people with mental health conditions) and I run Humour for Wellbeing courses. One of my shows (a whodunnit set in a dementia ward) has been used by the NHS to train healthcare staff. I use my art to help people rediscover their funny bone.”
(Rob Gee)
"Performing my show, I meet audiences who are bright, engaged and full of energy. Often they are people who have retired and are now giving back to the community and living to the full.
They are, in many ways, ideal citizens. Yet our world, dominated by an aggressively middle-aged sensibility, takes them for granted. It’s time to look at the post-60 years as more than a slow fade.
Through songs and laughter, my show Old Enough To Know Better presents our later years as dynamic, positive and generous-spirited. Most revolutions come from the young. It’s time for one from the old."
(Terence Blacker)
"I use my songs to highlight the power that we hold and I get the message home by encouraging the audience to take part. After every show, I always have at least one person thanking me for embracing the subject of being a domestic abuse survivor."
(Julia Titus – Ma Bessie)
"Music is an incredibly inspiring vehicle for messages and standpoints on big issues. Folk music especially has been used to unify and protest as well as entertain throughout history. In Tarren, we weave our personalities through our material which is often original. We like to think we are adding to the tradition.
In our track Neither Maid nor Man, we rework traditional songs of gender variance (like cross-dressing) into an empowering narrative that culminates with our very own Alex’s story as a non-binary person.
We wrote this song to expose people to and raise the profile of national conversations around gender. A huge factor in the continued violence and discrimination against women is the perpetuation of traditional gender roles. By fighting for trans rights, we further discredit those views and empower women as well as everybody else."
(Danny, Alex and Sid – Tarren)
We'd like to thank all of the artists who took part in this interview.
For more information on International Women's Day, please click here.
To find a show near you, please click here.
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