The Trouble with Today’s Women is a unique devised performance that centres the personal narratives of women, especially women of colour, as they grapple with the challenges of confronting today’s society and structures. In our play, what starts as a very familiar Cambridge institution, rapidly dissolves and transforms in unexpected ways, causing us to encounter something that’s surreal, touching, and humorous. We would like to surprise the audience, and prompt reflection and questioning about what voices are centred in our institutions. Is there space for authenticity, irreverence, and care within these established structures that we often take for granted?

“The non-hierarchical, collective nature of the devised theatre form particularly appealed to us”

The last year has been difficult in so many ways, including for theatre; being unable to co-inhabit physical spaces has challenged us emotionally and creatively. Black Lives Matter burst into our creative consciousness, as for a brief moment the world appeared to have become aware of pervasive injustices along fault lines of class, race, gender, wealth, more revealed by the movement, and by the pandemic. Sadly, this moment appears to have been short lived, and we are left dealing with an even more deeply divided world. As a young company created to bring new perspectives and alternative narratives to theatre spaces, especially to challenge the dominance of stories told from a singular point of view of the western world, how could Bread Theatre and Film Company respond?

Bread is always looking to push boundaries and experiment with different forms, and the non-hierarchical, collective nature of the devised theatre form particularly appealed to us. Despite the ongoing pandemic, we felt it was more important than ever to make theatre at this time, so we decided to embark on a new experiment – to bring a devised performance to the ADC stage that told the stories of women of colour. With a devised performance, we are looking to centre the authentic voices of performers, so our narratives are heard, that might perhaps not otherwise be heard. It is time for us to go beyond the centring on stage of the same stories and familiar voices that have been at the centre of the world for centuries.

“The work we are bringing to the ADC stage draws on these pieces of individual writing, and creates a piece of theatre in which we collectively explore”

We initiated a collaboration with Shreya Tanisha of MZL Productions, who led us in a series of workshops which introduced us to the tools of devised theatre. These workshops led to a writing process in which actors and creatives had the chance to delve into their inner psyche and experience and uncover their own voice. The work we are bringing to the ADC stage draws on these pieces of individual writing, and creates a piece of theatre in which we collectively explore the dream-like state between the conscious and subconscious and linger in a surrealist space to question why we are there and what it feels like to be there. That is The Trouble With Today’s Women.

Collective devising has been incredibly rewarding, but undoubtedly challenging at times, especially during a pandemic where most of our devising and initial rehearsing has been over Zoom. We are so glad to be performing on a live stage, and have a newfound appreciation for being able to work together in person and enjoying each other’s company in the rehearsal process. It has been a brilliant process in which we have got to know each other and to hear each others’ stories, and to find inspiration in our collective energy and creativity in bringing these stories to stage.

Woven through moments of vulnerability and sometimes sadness in the performance, is unexpected humour. There are several moments of surreal surprise and playfulness. Look out for mujra dances, and Hilary’s axe! We are incredibly grateful to Hilary Westlake for her generosity in giving us countless hours of her wisdom and renowned directorial experience in guiding our production. The piece is a subtle yet powerful subversion and social commentary by women, and predominantly women of colour. We had an incredibly rewarding time creating this production, which we hope that audiences will love, too. This production is just one of Bread’s innovative performances; look out for many more, as we continue in the spirit of experimentation, challenging tradition and received wisdom.