Following the 2021 success of Silent Heroines – we are back for 2023! Continuing as an immersive theatre show using audio headsets – delving into the untold real-life stories of an all-woman, Bristol-based cast.
Laughter and tears, puberty and menopause, struggles and successes. A range of local Bristol women from different generations and cultures come together to share their real-life stories and experiences of being a woman. Silent Heroines Disco is an immersive theatre piece: through the use of Bluetooth headsets and live performance, this alternative audio show is not to be missed.
Put your headsets on and let this all-women cast take you on a journey of what being a woman means to them.
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What is a Silent Heroines Disco?
The idea was created by the Dutch company Women Connected, who developed the first Silent Heroines Disco in 2016 for International Women’s Day. Since then, they have grown the idea: performing festivals, touring internationally and inspiring other arts organisations to create their own versions. Jody Cook has followed the journey and chose to stage her own in Lockleaze in 2021 – and now for 2023 is touring it across other sites in Bristol and Weston Super Mare.
How does it work?
Headsets on, you will listen intently to the stories as you watch them performed live on stage. A truly mesmerising, intimate, exciting and unique experience.
Recommended age 14+ contains sexual references. If you would like more information please contact [email protected]
Touring Spring 2023
8th March, 7.30pm at acta Theatre, Bedminster – Tickets here (opens in current tab)
10th March, 7.30pm at acta Theatre, Bedminster – Tickets here (opens in current tab)
25th March March, 3pm and 7pm at The Front Room, Weston-Super-Mare – Tickets here (opens in new tab)
25th April, 7.30pm at Trinity Centre, Old Market – Tickets here (opens in new tab)
Please follow individual links above for booking as each venue differs.
Workshops
Every woman has a story – and we want to hear yours. In the following workshops, the artists will lead discussions and then will guide you to create your own art speaking your truth.
The final pieces will go on tour with The Silent Heroines Disco performance, with the works displayed at each venue in a touring exhibition. This is a chance to get your voice heard, illustrated and accounted for.
Thursday 23rd February, 12.30pm at acta Theatre, Bedminster with Jazz Thompson (Illustrator)
Saturday 18th February, 2pm-5pm at The Vench, Lockleaze with Esther May Campbell (Photographer)
Thursday 23rd February 5pm, 27th February 11am, 1st March 10.30am at acta Centre with Rosalie Pordes and Jody Cook (Theatre artists)
Silent Heroines Disco is made possible with generous support from Arts Council England
Book your free place on the workshops here (link opens in new tab)
What is a silent disco theatre project?
Every three years, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, plays host to the International Community Arts Festival (ICAF). Performers, artists and practitioners from across the globe are invited to celebrate the value of participatory arts. It just so happened that this triannual event landed during Jody’s first year on the acta Foundation scheme, and it was here that she experienced the idea of a Silent Heroines Disco. It hasn’t left her mind since.
“We arrived at the theatre on a party bus, lights flashing, we didn’t know what to expect. You were given a headset, and the stories were told to you while you watched it play out on stage.”
The idea was created by the company Women Connected, who developed the first Silent Heroines Disco in 2016 for International Women’s Day. Since then, they have grown the idea: performing at two ICAFs, touring to Gotenburg, Sweden, inspiring Citizens Theatre in Glasgow to create their own (image above) plus a 2019 performance with 1,000 women, and even a Silent Heroines The Movie in April 2021!
[Image courtesy of Karen Gordon, photographing the Silent Heroines Disco from Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. Find more here.
With its success clearly proven, it was certainly an idea that could be replicated here in the UK. In a collaboration with Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust in 2019, Jody produced a show using the headset format for the first time. The response from the audience was just as she’d hoped: “An intense feeling, of blocking out the rest of the world. You can’t look at your phone, or hear a crisp packet opening, or someone coughing behind you. The experience felt real, and for those minutes you’re fully engaged; absorbed in it all.”