Material which will form the basis of new hip hop musical Suffrageddon will play the award-winning Latitude Festival at Henham Park, Suffolk from 12-15 July.
Inspired by the hit show Hamilton, the modern re-telling of the story of Emmeline Pankhurst and the women’s suffrage movement has been created and composed by soul singer Rebecca Phillips (aka Omahrose) and Mark Hodge, with writing and performances from RoxXxan, Oracy Chambers, Aminita Francis and Koko Brown.
Commissioned by Deborah Frances-White and currently running for 12 minutes, material from the show previously earned a standing ovation when performed during a live recording of The Guilty Feminist comedy podcast earlier this year.
Commenting on the production which was also the subject of a successful crowd funding campaign, White said: “The suffragettes were almost all white, and women of colour were structurally excluded so we at The Guilty Feminist wanted to do something to address that fact for the centenary.
“Hamilton really inspired me. The founding fathers of America started with the statement that it was self-evident that ‘all men are created equal’ while they enslaved Africans. Their idea was bigger than their intentions. It arrives with Lesley Odom Jr and Daveed Diggs cutting up Broadway and taking all the Tonys. Similarly, the suffragettes idea arrives with these amazing women on the stage at Latitude, in the West End and on tour, developing a full-length musical using hip hop – the music of revolution – making the story relevant and reaching a broad and young audience who often feel failed or marginalised by democracy.
“The idea of the suffragettes lands here with Suffrageddon and this cast and this audience. We hope it will entertain and inspire activism and participation.”
Part of the 13th edition of the popular festival, The Guilty Feminist production will feature on a varied bill that includes chart stars Solange, The Charlatans and Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, comedian Harry Hill and Sadler’s Wells.
Angela Thomas
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