The Theatre Chipping Norton presents The Road Behind, The Road Ahead, an exploration and a celebration of the Suffragette movement and the centenary of the first votes for women. This exhibition was created around a series of interviews with contemporary women from all walks of life, ethnicities, ages and backgrounds. From children to care home residents, working mums to the homeless, these women were asked to reflect on their own experience of female equality and what the Suffragette movement means to them. What you see is a selection of photographs of some of these participants, shot by portrait photographer Christine Bradshaw. What you hear is the work of four composers/sound artists who have created pieces of audio from the recordings of these interviews. The pieces of audio will be played around the gallery at 2pm and 5pm every day. If you are here at a different time you can enjoy their work through the headphones.

The exhibition is partnered by a live performance of rarely seen drama and songs from the Suffrage movement. Performing at the Old Fire Station on Thursday October 11 followed by a panel discussion featuring Oxford academics and members of the creative team, and again at The Theatre Chipping Norton on Wednesday October 10 and Friday October 12.

Christine Bradshaw is a portrait and fine art photographer. She studied Fine Art at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and then trained in textile design. She worked for many years at the creative end of the fashion industry, travelling frequently all over the world. She draws upon her background of working with creative people in stimulating environments as a source of inspiration for her photographic projects and commissions.

‘I was initially struck by the undercover photograph of the imprisoned suffragette Clara Lambert, which powerfully captures a brave woman’s calm dignity and strength of conviction in the rightness of her cause. I also explored Irving Penn’s 1948 series of portraits taken with the sitter squeezed into a V-shaped space or a 3-sided corner. The compression of the space creates the intimacy I was looking for, and brings a unifying effect to the series, while allowing each sitter to express her own unique individuality within that framework.’

Thursday 6 September: join us in the Gallery to celebrate the opening of the exhibition, 6 – 8pm.

The Road Behind, The Road Ahead
Thursday 11 October, 7.30pm
Join us for an evening of rarely-seen drama from the Votes for Women movement – a stripped back production of short plays and songs that helped to shape public opinion and remain relevant, gripping and funny to this day.
Tickets: £10/£8. Click here.