Following their critically acclaimed show Beach Body Ready at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Hull-based theatre company The Roaring Girls are now creating a raucous, messy, heartfelt show about periods.
Describing themselves as fierce, feminist and fun, the all-female company uses autobiographical narratives to create new work, approaching big and sometimes taboo subjects that connect with people on a personal level. They want their audiences to leave laughing, crying and, most importantly, talking.
Beginning their research and development phase by collaborating online, the creative team come together to talk about topics rarely taught at school, including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome and the menopause. The show explores period poverty, eco-periods and advertising that uses blue liquids. It’s about having the painters in, surfing the crimson wave, having your monthlies, suffering from the curse, and HAVING YOUR BLOODY PERIOD.
Lizi Perry and Rachael Abbey, Co-Artistic Directors of The Roaring Girls, say: “We’re excited to partner with Preston Road Women’s Centre and the University of Hull to offer a more comprehensive education on the menstruating body. We’re collaborating with an awesome creative team to make a show bursting with music, and mixing the glitz and glam with the bloody messy, to create something to dazzle and delight, as well as educate.”
Balancing humour with pathos, this new production is being devised by the company and local creatives, including actor Sophie Clay and designer Natalie Young, alongside newly appointed Musical Directors Emmy Stonelake and Zoe West.
Dr Barbara Guinn, Reader in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Hull, says: “It’s never too soon to talk about our reproductive organs and the problems they can cause us. Whether we are experiencing so-called ‘normal’ periods or painful endometriosis, we won’t know unless we can talk openly. It’s important that everyone knows when, and who, to ask for help so I am thrilled The Roaring Girls have chosen this vital topic for their next show.”
As part of their research, The Roaring Girls are talking with the local LGBTQ+ community, women, mothers and daughters and menstruation support groups. You can get involved with the project at www.theroaringgirls.co.uk and by connecting with them on social media, @theroaringgirls.
