'Be the change that you want to see
Be the change for you and me’
This revolutionary story celebrates the life of Sylvia Pankhurst – feminist, activist, pacifist, socialist, rebel – the lesser-known Pankhurst at the heart of the Suffragette movement, who changed the lives of working women and men across the world.
Following its 2018 run as a work-in-progress, Kate Prince’s Sylvia is back where it all began for its world premiere, uniting dance, hip hop, funk and soul to shine a light on a remarkable moment in history, with original music by Josh Cohen and DJ Walde.
Beverley Knight will not perform on:
Mon 27–Tue 28 Feb
Mon 6–Tue 7 Mar
Mon 13–Tue 14 Mar
All performances from Mon 20–Tue 28 Mar
Access Performances
Audio Described: Thu 9 Mar 7.30pm
Captioned: Fri 3 Mar 7:30pm
In the wake of mega hits ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Emilia’, it feels like a hip hop suffragette musical is what theatre fans are crying out for. But despite a dynamite cast, ZooNation director Kate Prince’s ‘Sylvia’ probably won’t get audiences rioting in the streets. Retooled after an Old Vic run in 2018 that was hastily restyled as a work-in-progress, it’s now polished but painfully polite, steering clear of political rabble-rousing in favour of a historically faithful trundle through early twentieth-century politics.
Zoo Nation's Kate Prince is ostensibly a choreographer and director, but this show also features her lyrics and book, written with Priya Parmar. This is the crux of the show's weakness; it simply tries to fit too much in. It is odd that the show spends a few scant minutes on the time leading up to everyone receiving the vote in 1928, but languishes on Sylvia's relationship with Keir Hardie and overlong lampooning of a hen-pecked Churchill. Although thoughtfully staged, it is also hard to shed a tear at the death of Sylvia's brother when he is an unknown character.
2018 | West End |
Old Vic Theatre Original Production West End |
2023 | West End |
West End |
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