What to expect from Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World? An educational run through of famous women in history? A predictable parade of heavily costumed matriarchs? A Horrible Histories style frolic of petticoats and bonnets?
this is A cross between Six the musical and A Night At The Museum
Think again. Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, currently taking Oxford Playhouse by storm until Sunday, bursts onto stage in a kaladeiscope of colour, music, dance and stories, reframing the dusty tomes of history with a freshness and vitality that scoops you up and carries you right through to the joyful end.
Based on the book by Kate Pankhurst and adapted by Chris Bush, Jade (played so excellently by Elise Zavou) is a well behaved and underestimated 12 year-old schoolgirl who gets left behind on a school trip. After deciding she’s bored of being invisible, she ventures into the closed off section of the museum, where the fun really starts.
garish, loud, opinionated, forthright, ambitious, determined, steadfast, unwavering, these are no ordinary women
Because there she meets the characters that will change her life irrevocably. Think Six The Musical crossed with A Night At The Museum, these are no ordinary women – garish, loud, opinionated, forthright, ambitious, determined, steadfast, unwavering, between them they inspire, promote and encourage everyone in the audience to stick to their guns and make a difference.
From feminist giants such as Emmeline Pankhurst, dressed in a purple military marchioness outfit) and Agent Fifi (the spy Marie Christine Chilver) who both kicked ass compared to the gentler Jane Austen and Anne Frank, we also meet the lesser known hero Mary Seattle (Crimean nurse) and Sacagawea (explorer).
We cover travel and adventure (pilot Amelia Earhart), sport (channel swimmer Gertrude Ederle), science (palaeontologist Mary Anning and Nobel prize winner Marie Curie) to activists such as Rosa Parks (American civil rights movement) and artists like Frida Kahlo.
And between them, the multi-faceted and diverse cast of Jade Kennedy, Renee Lamb, Christina Modestou, Kirstie Skivington and Clarice Julianda make an indelible impression on us both in terms of their astonishing capabilities, and of the struggle it took just to be seen or heard.
Throw in a live band to remind us of our inherent musical capabilities and the die is cast for world domination, for one night at least.
So take your girls, or any child for that matter, (recommended age 7+ but my young teenagers enjoyed it too) and give them a much needed boost. Because Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World teaches them it’s as much about them as anyone.
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World is at Oxford Playhouse until Sunday May 29. Book here https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/fantastically-great-women-who-changed-the-world
