We sat down for a quick chat with Naomi Sorkin, curator of The Playground Theatre’s Women’s Voices festival.
Where did the original idea for Women’s Voices come from for you personally?
About a year and a half ago a colleague suggested that The Playground Theatre create something around International Women’s Day. I agreed it was a great idea, but what should it be? There are already events around the day, but as a theatre we have the opportunity to do something larger and more inclusive, featuring plays, films, spoken word, dance, and music. It’s a fantastic opportunity to represent women all across the Arts.
This is the second year of Women’s Voices – how does it feel seeing the festival return and grow?
It’s really exciting – this second festival is going to have 23 different events over the three-week period, whereas last year we had 18. We have also added to the mix with media, comedy, poetry – as well as a group of highly powerful business and political women telling stories not about their careers but about seminal moments in their lives. So it will be even more diverse with ever more fascinating stories to be told. What I realise is that we could have a much longer festival, as there really is a great need for this platform and endless stories, both past and present, that deserve our attention.
As a curator, how do you decide which stories or artists make it into the programme when there are clearly so many possibilities?
Yes, it’s true – there are many possibilities, and we received many different submissions, but in the end, I have to choose based on my judgment of what really speaks to me personally. Do I think something is of good quality, whether from new or established voices, and then if it is, does it say something that moves me, makes me think, inspires me? That is what we hope to bring to an audience, and therefore, I am the first audience and make my decisions based on very personal responses. This year I have had three co-curators, Myriam Cyr, Nicole Ansari-Cox and Kamini Banga who have all brought very interesting projects to the table, making it an even richer mix this year. For instance, we have our youngest contributors this year with two plays – Honeytrap, and Who’d Love Lucy – written by women in their early 20s, and Sessions, by an experienced writer in her 80s – and most ages in between. I’m very proud of the programme this year; it is full of fascinating work.
When audiences walk out after an event, what feeling or thought do you hope stays with them?
I think most artists want people to be moved, to feel, to think, to be emotionally involved, to be inspired. Women have voices that explore every aspect of human existence.
Do you see Women’s Voices evolving in a particular direction over the next few years?
I think the festival should speak to our time, our feelings, and our shared humanity. Those are the stories we want to tell, and we want people to recognise that women have something to say about absolutely everything – and always have. Women make up 50% of the population, yet are rarely given 50% of the opportunities, even in the arts, where there are many women performers but less equal representation among creators. We want to challenge that imbalance and continue to put women’s voices upfront and centre.
Women’s Voices: A Celebration runs from 8 – 31 March, with theatre, music, dance, comedy, and conversation. More info / booking at What’s On | The Playground Theatre