Thistle and Rose Theater talk about upcoming Scratch Nights
As International Women’s Day approaches, Friday, March 8th, what better way to mark it than with a female-led creativity scratch night?we took a few minutes katie bignell and caitlin lee smith from Thistle & Rose Theater Company to ask about the exciting evening they have planned.
Hello, Katie and Caitlin Lee. We at ET are big fans of your Thistle & Rose, and we also loved your Post-Sex Spagbol at Vaults last year. Want to talk a little bit about what you do?
Hello Mary! Thank you very much. We are a female-led emerging theater company dedicated to uncovering the dirty truths of femininity, formed in 2022 and made up of graduates from East 15’s acting and contemporary theater courses. Since then, she has produced ensembles and shows for women from England, Scotland and Denmark. , various regions throughout the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. We are committed to creating open, honest, provocative and unapologetic theater that brings women’s voices to the fore, with gasps and laughs. our debut play, post sex spa bol, won The Space Launchpad Award 2022 and was nominated for The Spirit Of VAULT Award and OffFest Award. We are excited to continue elevating and celebrating women’s voices through upcoming Her Scratch Nights.
This week we’re hosting a scratch night showcasing new work by women. Why now?
We’ve been keen to host a female-led scratch night for a while, and there’s no better night than International Women’s Day. In recognition of this day, we will donate all proceeds to the Malala Fund. A wonderful charity that “works for a world where every girl can learn and lead.”
How did diverse female creators come together??
When we put out a call on social media, we got such a great response from artists and so many great pieces of work that we received, which made our job very difficult. We were keen to focus on very new and up-and-coming artists/works and create a diverse range of performance styles. There’s new music from an EP in the works, excerpts from scenes, a one-man show, and some poetry! Some of the artists we have had the good fortune to collaborate with before, while others will be joining Thistle & Rose Theater for the first time.
Can you tell us about the play that night and the work in progress?
of course! There’s a real mix, new comedy shows. i am stressed Written by Demelza Sears kusbert’s party Written by Kat Stidston and Nicole Cuthbert; party favors Written by Shelby Corey go go boots go Rosalie Roger Lacan and Amber Charlie Conroy’s works all explore femininity, girlhood, and expectations for women in hilarious ways. There are also dramas such as I don’t feel like eating quiche anymore According to Victoria Bass cherry sour Written by Isabel Quiroz, exploring complex relationships, and finally uterus Written by Aylin Rodopl, this is a unique and absurd play about “what women have experienced from the beginning of the world to the present day.”
What other performance types can we expect?
We have some great theater as well as some music. Crystal Mills will be performing a brand new original song, “Lion Of Judah,” and Sarah Victoria (also the night’s great technician) will be performing “Chelsea Tractor.” Gentrification in South London inspired by Amy Winehouse’s ‘F*ck me Pump’. Also, “Per-Verse,” a new work by the wonderful Georgie She Wedge, in which Georgie “examines her dating experience through the senses” and performs in her spoken word/stand-up style.
Can anyone participate? Or is it only for women?
of course! At Thistle & Rose Theater, we are passionate about creating artistic spaces for women and marginalized genders, and we invite everyone to join us for Scratch Night to laugh, learn, and connect. We recommend that you do so.
It’s all really exciting. What will Thistle & Rose do next?
Thank you Mary! This year’s scratch night was so popular that we plan to hold another scratch night soon. We also plan to hold several more workshops following the success of our writing and comedy workshops last spring. We are both writing new plays, so we hope to be able to plan this soon, but we also want to expand the company to present intense new female-led plays by outside playwrights.
Thank you to Katie and Caitlin Lee for taking the time to talk to us about the 2019 International Women’s Day Scratch Night. Friday, March 8th At Actors East, Dalston, London. Tickets for the event are already sold out, but you can join the return waiting list here.
Learn more about Thistle and Rose here.