Tmesis Theatre in Liverpool have announced a new digital project showcasing a series of short films written and performed by women based in the North.
The project sees Indian poet, writer and activist, Jhilmil Breckenridge; Coronation Street writer, Ella Greenhil; winner of the Northern Writers Award for Poetry, Jennifer Lee Tsai; and Lizzie Nunnery, an award-winning scriptwriter, each writing about an aspect of being a woman that is close to their heart, looking at subjects such as motherhood, abuse, and ageing and re-connecting with their female ancestors.
Tmesis’ Artistic Director, Elinor Randle has worked with film makers First Take to create 5 short films, interspersing movement, image and words, based on the writers’ finished pieces; some filmed on the performers’ mobile phones, others on location by First Take.
The Liverpool-based theatre company has called upon a number of talented female performers including Annabel Dowler (Kirsty in The Archers), Louise McNulty (Widnes based TV & theatre actress) and dance artists Jennifer Essex and Pei Tong, to bring the writing to life on screen.
The project also sees Elinor Randle herself making her first comeback to performing since her solo show Wolf Red in 2013.
‘It has been really exciting to work in a new medium over lockdown, especially with sixteen really diverse and talented female artists in the region. The writers had complete free reign over what they wrote, which made it refreshing and personal, and it was a joy to work out how to support their words with movement. Two of the pieces were directed via Zoom which is certainly something I never expected I would be doing!’ – Elinor Randle
The films will be released weekly and can be seen via the Tmesis Theatre website: https://www.tmesistheatre.com/projects/digital-projects/
