THE ENERGETIC Cradley Village Players put women centre stage in an ambitious double-bill which celebrates their courage, confidence and creativity.
The shows will be held at Cradley Primary School during the autumn half term.
In November it will be 100 years since the First World War ended and women first got the vote.
To commemorate these key anniversaries, the evening opens with a sequence of articles, letters, poems and songs from the period, backed by images which include paintings by female artists.
‘What did you do in the Great War, Mummy?’ vividly reveals how women not only contributed to the war effort but also continued their campaign for political equality.
Among those who risked their lives for their country were the ‘canary girls’ whose skin turned yellow because of the dangerous chemicals they had to use making shells at the munitions works in Rotherwas, near Hereford.
The second half also explores women’s lives, but in a less risky environment.
The Reading Group, a one-act play by Fay Weldon, is a funny and astutely observed study of sexual politics which centres on an all-female reading group.
Oriole wants to study modern authors while Anne prefers classics.
Add in Lesley, a recent divorcee with a penchant for the bottle, viperish stress counsellor Avril and spinsterly pedagogue Zelda, you have a recipe for trouble as the women’s personalities echo those of their literary heroines.
But not everyone is there for books as nefarious designs are uncovered and tensions rise to a dramatic climax.
Directed by Mary Fielding, CVP’s Autumn double-bill is at Cradley CE Primary School from Thursday, November 1 to Saturday, November 3.
Tickets cost £8 for adults and £5 for children aged 15 and under.
They can be brought on the door or from www.cradleyvillageplayers.com as well as The Butchery in Cradley.
