Julie Hesmondhalgh and Royal Exchange Theatre joint artistic director Bryony Shanahan feature in Manchester-based HER productions' Vignettes – six short plays celebrating the 45th anniversary of Greater Manchester Rape Crisis.
Vignettes is back for its fifth showcase of local women playwrights, this time at Contact Theatre, Manchester (October 4-5), in collaboration with GMRC, the organisation providing a safe space for victims.
HER Productions has commissioned six local playwrights – Debbie Oates, Maz Hedgehog, Lindsay Williams, Alex Keelan, Lekhani Chirwa and Zoe Iqbal – to write short pieces that celebrate the work of GMRC, one of which will be directed by Shanahan. Local icon Julie Hesmondhalgh will appear in Lifelines by Coronation Street writer Debbie Oates.
Julie said: “I’m excited and honoured to be part of this project. I hope it will help to continue the ever-more urgent conversations about consent, and cuts to crucial services – as well as sending a resounding thank-you to all who have worked for GMRC over the years."
HER Productions founder, Hannah Ellis Ryan, added: “We are proud to present another Vignettes, this time with an incredible partner and in a new space.
"Every year we bring a new group of women together to write stories they care about and we’re consistently amazed by their quality and originality. This year they get to write about a specific stimulus: the work of GMRC. I couldn’t be prouder they have trusted us to represent their work.”
Chief executive and manager of GMRC, Anne Stebbings, said: “Help us celebrate our work and the women of Greater Manchester we have been proud and honoured to support over the last 45 years.”
More info and tickets here