‘Votes For Ladies’

Recently, I’ve come across the Bristol Radical History Group, which formed in 2006 to stage talks, walks, gigs and more, as well as publishing an impressive catalogue of pamphlets, all celebrating different aspects of Bristol’s radical past.

So I visited HydraBookshop on Old Market (which grew out of the BRHG) and bought quite a few pamphlets, including Votes For Ladies: The Suffrage Movement 1867-1918 by Sheila McNeil (which I’m told is a pseudonym). 

As the title suggests, McNeil is not backwards in coming forwards in suggesting that the suffrage movement was aimed at middle-class women only, and was alienating to working-class women. These facts can’t be denied – meetings were generally held during day times meaning working-class women couldn’t attend; if meetings were held in the evenings, working-class women had little free time to attend between child-care and domestic tasks etc; middle-class women had servants and nannies to keep the home in order if they were sent to prison, while working-class women had no such luxury; and so on. These are plain facts.

What’s interesting in McNeil’s pamphlet is that she chooses deliberate and firm language to make plain her belief that this exclusivity was wrong and detrimental to the cause. In fact, the pamphlet’s title comes from a quote by Dora Montefiore (who set up a branch of the WSPU in a working-class area of East London, but who campaigned for ‘adult suffrage’ rather than ‘women’s suffrage’), who said the WSPU was not interested in votes for women but in “votes for ladies”. Implying the Pankhursts saw a clear line between themselves and their less fortunate sisters.

Since much literature about the suffrage movement only briefly mentions the exclusion of working-class women, it’s important that it’s highlighted here in McNeil’s pamphlet. I’ve now ordered a copy of One Hand Tied Behind Us by Jill Liddington and Jill Norris, which is one of very few historical suffrage books to focus on this aspect. (You can expect a review of that in due course!)

Votes For Ladies takes an interesting angle on the suffrage movement, and acknowledges that there is a key area that has been often overlooked in most writings about the campaign. And it’s good to know that there is a diligent bunch of people locally who are committed to keeping the socialist past of our female history alive. In 2009, the BRHG even staged a dramatic re-enactment of Theresa Garnett’s attack on Winston Churchill at Temple Meads Station (watch the film clip here).

The Stand-Up Intuitive Show

Who says stand-up can only involve a person standing with a mic at the front of a room telling jokes? If that’s you, stop being so conservative and check out Becky Walsh – a well-established and brilliant Bristol-based psychic, intuitionist and stand-up.

I went over to The Square Club on Bristol’s Berkeley Square last night to check out Becky’s show, and got much more than a few laughs. Interspersed with a few stand-up spots inspired by comments from the audience, Becky led several readings of audience members… including me!

But as Becky said at the top of the show, while audience involvement is a big part of The Stand-Up Intuitive Show, it’s about laughing with people and not at them. And I don’t think anyone in the Square Club’s Lounge Bar felt otherwise. The atmosphere was warm, friendly and inclusive, and the message was very much that you could be involved if you wanted, or simply sit back and observe if you preferred. But most people wanted to be included…

Becky has a range of methods for engaging the audience, from reading a personal item of theirs (such as a pair of glasses, or piece of jewellery, to read the vibrations of a person she doesn’t previously know), or inviting someone to rip up an egg box so that she can read their personality from the way they tear up the cardboard. Not to mention reading the particular flower someone picks from a posy, or using random (or are they?) song lyrics to answer an audience member’s specific question.

This was certainly a fun evening and one I’d love to repeat. Because with an intuitive show, it is all about the audience and what they bring to the venue with them that evening. Becky starts the show with no idea of what questions she’ll be asked, or how events will unfold, which means you’re guaranteed a new experience every single time.

Becky Walsh appears at The Square Club on the first Sunday of every month. Visit her website for details of her other events around Bristol and the UK, and to find out about the books she’s written.

'I Could’ve Been Better' at Bristol Old Vic

How can you not love a play that invites everyone in the audience to make and throw a paper aeroplane?

At the heart of the one-man show I Could’ve Been Better is gentle audience interaction. But don’t worry, it’s not the kind of toe-curling, sing-a-long participation of some shows, it’s simply a few discrete nods or murmurs from a selected few. But, as production company Idiot Child spells out in the programme, it is intended to keep the audience central to the work.

This one-hour show is the funny, thought-provoking and gentle tale of James (performed by co-writer Jimmy Whiteaker): a 30-year-old man who is stuck in a boring job as a railway announcer, but who livens the tedium up with almost Billy Liar-esque imagination. Interspersed with autobiographical stories about his unusual love life with the unseen Sue, James also harbours a lifelong desire to become a champion swimmer – a dream fuelled by his long-running pen pal friendship with Olympic gold medallist Duncan Goodhew.

If only it weren’t for his 11-year-old swimming pool nemesis, perhaps James would have been better at swimming? If only it weren’t for the school bullies, perhaps James would be something better than a railway announcer? If only…

I Could’ve Been Better is performed beautifully by Whiteaker, who completely convinces as luckless James. At times the structure seems a little clunky (for instance, I thought the relaxation technique segment went on too long before the punchlines started), but overall I Could’ve Been Better is a pleasure and a treat. The audience is left with the impression that Jimmy, co-writer and director Anna Harpin have really put their hearts and souls into this production, and the result is delightful.

The performance is in Bristol Old Vic’s Studio from October 3-6, and returns from October 9-13. Clickhere for more information and to buy tickets.

Mad About The Boy – Bristol Old Vic

Who needs to go to Edinburgh to see fine fringe theatre, when Bristol Old Vic delivers it to our doorstep here in the South West? Yet again, this trusted theatre delivers a packed programme of excellent and challenging performances.

My fist visit during the venue’s Autumn 2012 programme was to the downstairs Studio to see Mad About The Boy, a blunt three-hander written by Gbolahan Obiesesan. After deservedly winning the Fringe First Award at Edinburgh last year, the play is now on tour around the UK… and it’s only on in Bristol for three days, so catch it while you can.

Our protagonist is Boy (Bayo Gbadamosi), a 14-year-old youth struggling to find his place in contemporary inner-city life. He is supported by Dad (Jason Barnett) and school social worker Man (Simon Darwen). Boy is on the cusp of falling out of school and into a detention centre, while the older Man and Dad struggle to understand where things went wrong and how they can help.

What particularly struck me was the message, plainly and clearly delivered by Man, that Boy needs to respect women. When Boy asks for advice on how to make a girl like him, saying “If you want me to adjust my attitude, tell me how to get the girl I like to give me head”, a frustrated Man tells him “You got no respect.” Boy goes on to list the various uses he sees the girl offering him, all of which are derogatory.

Meaning it comes as no surprise that the crisis in the plot centres around an appalling and violent attack on a girl. The atmosphere in the Studio’s audience as Boy, Dad and Man argued over what happened was thick with tension, and I found my fingers tightly gripping the glass in my hands. While it would have altered the dynamics to introduce a new character at this point, I also wondered about the potential benefits of introducing the girl at this stage.

All three actors are faultless in their passion, vivacity and performance. Throughout four acts, the characters stand facing the audience - rather than each other – to deliver their fast-paced lyrical lines, in a directorial move by Ria Parry that really engages the audience and includes them in the action. When Man says “So what do you choose?”, he could be asking the audience as much as he’s asking Boy.

Mad About The Boy is astonishingly good theatre, delivering quick-fire, intelligent lines with precision, talent and a touch of humour (“I ain’t no Peter Andre, though”). That the underlying message was about respect for women and for taking responsibility for your actions, only makes me recommend this play even more.

Please click here to visit the Bristol Old Vic website for more information and to book tickets. Mad About The Boy is on until 29 September.