This event celebrates 10 years of Calm Down Dear and marks the 50 year anniversary of the first Women’s Theatre Festival in 1973 championing 50 years of feminist theatre making and charting its evolution over the last five decades.
This is an opportunity for intergenerational connection and conversation on progress made and what agendas lie ahead. As with the first women’s theatre festival in 1973, this anniversary 50 years later offers us another milestone stop-point to gather together and check in on the state of gender parity in the UK theatre industry.
The event will begin at 2.30pm with a panel discussion on feminist theatre ecology with panelists including Calm Down Dear 2023 programmer Abbi Greenland from RASHDASH, Jessica Kaliisa, Lily Susan Todd, Amelia Donkor and Susan Croft. We will be looking at barriers facing creatives and asking how we can work to progress towards equality both on and off stage.
The discussion will then be followed by a 1970s inspired social with a chance for us all to meet, network and celebrate our community - in all our glitter, grit and glory.
Tobi King Bakare and this theatre deserve a shout-out for such a young, diverse audience. There is so much talk about audiences being full of over 60s and why, why can’t theatres get the crowds in to reflect society in general? Well, I’m happy to say that on a rainy Thursday evening, the theatre was completely full.
Caiti Grove on Before I Go in CPT's Spring 2023 season London Theatre Reviews
