Founded in 2011 by Lucy Kerbel TONIC THEATRE works towards achieving greater gender equality in the theatre industry. As an affiliate company at The National Theatre Studio the people behind TONIC THEATRE work with different theatre companies, projects and schemes to ensure that there is an equal amount of opportunities, jobs and roles for women. TONIC CELEBRATES is a new initiative of the company and the first event took place on the 22nd of June at The Ambassador Theatre.In conversation with TONIC THEATRE’s founder, three inspiring and remarkable women, Paule Constable, Indhu Rubasingham and Jessica Swale spoke about their careers, achievements and the fight for gender equality. One couldn’t help but notice that the common denominator between all the guest speakers was their ability at multitasking and being able to switch between jobs.
Indhu Rubasingham who is the Artistic Director of THE TRICYCLE THEATRE spoke about the fact that her career as a freelance director taught her about working with people, a skill so useful when running a venue. Jessica Swale, the acclaimed playwright and director referred to the fact that being a writer makes her grow as a director and vice versa.
All of the three women also admitted that although there is still a long way to go in terms of gender equality in the arts, things have changed immensely over the last decade “When I started I didn’t think I could be an artistic director because there was no female artistic directors around me“ reflected Rubasingham.
The first female lighting designer to be awarded an Olivier, Paule Constable, talked about attending her first ceremony when her husband was thought to be the nominee as no one could imagine that a woman worked in this profession, and on that note Constable also highlighted the lack of women working backstage in the theatre.
National Theatre director Rufus Norris has recently spoken about his plans of ensuring gender equality when it comes to performers and contemporary writers that the venue employs. Norris is determined to provide a 50:50 balance and although it is a very noble and important goal to work towards equality we should also remember that this is not simply just a gender fight but an equality fight.
As a feminist and an advocate for more female roles I’m looking forward to more TONIC CELEBRATES events as their first one was both an inspiring and a very educational one.
People who have never had the chance to visit Edinburgh in August often wonder what the Fringe Festival is really like. Since 2009, Londoners have been able to sample the atmosphere of Edinburgh without the travel fare thanks to the Southbank’s Udderbelly, a concept which started it’s life at (and is still a huge part of) the Edinburgh Festival. Udderbelly’s London offering has expanded and now includes the London Wonderground: a circus tent come cabaret venue.