RECENT PRODUCTIONS 2
FLIGHT
As part one of a double bill of Powerhouse Plays at Hope Mill Theatre – FLIGHT is a play following the RSPB founder Emily Williamson who began the Society whilst living in Didsbury at The Croft. Banned from joining the all male Ornithologists Union Emily began her own campaign against cruelty to birds at a time when the use of feathers in fashion was part of a multi million pound industry.
As a woman in the late 1800’s it wasn’t a path she was expected to follow. So how did she overcome derision and social expectation to create what became a national organisation, one that now has over one million members? Yet little is known of Emily and what she began at a time when marriage and children were supposed to be her only path. FLIGHT is a play about how hard it is to be a pioneer, marriage, fertility and finding your own identity in a world that wants you to be something else.
Highlight Collective is proud to present FLIGHT, written by Nicola Schofield, directed by Caroline Kennedy, Set Designed by David Haworth, performed by Zoe Mills (Emily) and Christopher Hollinshead (Robert)
“One of my mantras is that ‘sometimes you have to make trouble to make change’. Maybe it’s in the DNA of those of us who care passionately about birds, whatever, Williamson was infected and earned her heroic regard.” - Chris Packham, BBC Springwatch