Stand Up Poet Goes On The Road To Tell Stories Of Forgotten Northern Women

Stand Up Poet Kate Fox (Radio 4, Radio 3) is taking her acclaimed show, Where There's Muck There's Bras, to the theatres and stages of the North of England to share forgotten stories of the great women of the North.

Commissioned for the Great Exhibition of the North, the show draws on Kate's PhD on class, gender and North English regional identity in stand up. Combining poetry and performance, the show tells the story of a variety of Northern women, from literature to sport, science, enterprise, protest, politics, music and art. Written and performed by Kate, featuring actor Joanne Holden, the show aims to redress the balance to reflect a more diverse Northern identity.

Women in the show include Warrington swimmer Hilda James, who learnt how to swim at Garston Baths and introduced the American Crawl (or front crawl) to the UK and was known as the 'English Comet'. Holding every British and European freestyle record in 1924 she was expected to secure an Olympic title but her mother refused to let her attend the Paris Olympics. When she turned 21 she became a swimming teacher and took a job with Cunard.

Dora Thewlis was 17 when she travelled to London to take part in a political march and was arrested with fellow suffragettes for attempting to rush the House of Commons. She was known as the 'Baby Suffragette' when the picture of her arrest appeared on newspapers. In response to the media nickname she said "I am not a baby, in May next year I shall be 18. Surely, for a girl, that is a good age?"

St Helens Footballer Lily Parr was almost 6ft and reputedly had a harder shot than any male player. She played in the first international women's football tournament between England and France in 1920, partly held at Deepdale Stadium. The Football Association then banned women from playing on their member grounds (the ban held for 50 years). A mental health nurse, and LGBT icon, she was the first female player included in the English Football Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum.

Kate says, "At a time when the North lags behind the South on all measures from employment to life expectancy, it's time for women's voices to be heard. The people who have written about, sung about and represented the North are mostly men. From your classic Northern curmudgeons like Morrissey, Alex Turner, Richard Ashcroft, to the endless musicians in parkas leaning against walls and Northern politicians in identikit grey suits. For the region's full future potential to shine through we need to look at the people of our past and present with a different lens and writing a much broader story for the North. This show is an attempt to put women back in the picture."

Where There's Muck There's Bras

Written and performed by Kate Fox, featuring actor Joanna Holden, directed by Annie Rigby, produced by Laura Brewis

Tour Dates 2019

7 February Theatre Royal Wakefield www.theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk 01924 211 311

8 February East Riding Theatre www.eastridingtheatre.co.uk 01482 874050

9 February Milton Rooms, Malton www.themiltonrooms.com 01653 696 240

14 February Middlesbrough Town Hall www.middlesboroughtownhall.co.uk 01642 729 729

16 February Helmsley Arts Centre www.helmsleyarts.co.uk 01439 771700

28 February Queens Hall Hexham www.queenshall.co.uk 01434652477

1 March Darlington Hippodrome www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk 01325 405405

13 March Stage 2 Northern Stage, Newcastle www.northernstage.co.uk 0191 230 5151

14 March Portico Library Manchester www.theportico.org.uk 0161 236 6785

15 March Otley Courthouse otleycourthouse.org.uk 01943 467466

22 March Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal www.breweryarts.co.uk 01539 725133

23 March ARC Stockton arconline.co.uk 01642 525199

29 March Theatre Royal, York www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk 01904 623568

11 April Hull Truck www.hulltruck.co.uk 01482 323638

18 April Barnsley Civic www.barnsleycivic.co.uk 01266 327000

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