THE ‘incredible life’ of suffragette and activist Laura Annie Willson is celebrated in a new play coming to The Millgate Arts Centre in Delph.
On Wednesday, June 24, ‘A Regular Terror’, written by Alan Stockdill of Talking Stock Productions, will tell how the Halifax woman went from rags to riches and paved the way for females to succeed in a man’s world.
She was the first ever woman to be imprisoned in Leeds’ old Armley Gaol, but went on to become an engineer and house builder and set up workplace creches and canteens when they were unheard of.
She was awarded the MBE for her services to the war effort in World War One.
A friend of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, she was imprisoned in Holloway Prison with Emily Davison.
Laura Annie is so high profile in the engineering world she even has a building named after her at the University of Huddersfield, where the School of Engineering is housed.
Playwright Alan got the idea for the play when he came across a blue plaque with Laura Annie’s name on it on a terraced house in Halifax.
He explained: “Thank goodness I’ve never been able to walk past a blue plaque without reading it
“Laura Annie Willson caught my eye. I started researching and knew at once that I was going to write a play about her remarkable life.
“She was a remarkable woman and it’s my honour to give theatregoers the chance to watch her incredible life unfold in a play.”
Alan, who is known for writing about strong women, has written many plays produced by his company Talking Stock and raised more than £50,000 for various charities and local causes over the 13 years the production company has been going.
He won Best New Writing for his piece ‘Le Grand Return’ at the GM Fringe 2015 and subsequently took that play on two cruise ships.
His plays have been performed at The Swan in Dobcross and productions have also been taken to Millgate Arts Centre in the past.
- See ‘A Regular Terror’ at The Millgate Arts Centre in Delph on Wednesday,June 24. Tickets are available online here.
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