Wow at 15 at the Royal Albert Hall
Wow at 15 at the Royal Albert Hall
Written by Cathie for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
On this year’s International Woman’s Day the Royal Albert Hall celebrated the 15th anniversary of Women of The World festival. This festival originated in 2010 at the Royal Festival Hall as part of Dame Jude Kelly’s desire to create more opportunities for women’s voices and stories to be heard. It is now a global phenomenon reaching across six continents and works to drive an equal and inclusive future for girls and women. Attended by 4000 people, the atmosphere was vivid, optimistic and incredibly joyful throughout.
The entire event had two BSL signers who translated everything spoken and the screens used were captioned throughout. We also had mobility-inclusive ways of answering the questions posed to the audience. Throughout the evening, inclusiveness, across all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, and genders, was not just discussed but actively celebrated. From the outset, it was clear that WOW wasn’t just about celebrating women, it was about creating a dialogue that includes men in the conversation as well. The importance of International Men’s Day (November 19th) was discussed as well as the significance of men and women working together to move forward into a more inclusive society. Jordan Stephens was especially passionate and resounding on the topic of supporting men’s mental health and the importance of filling the gap on helping men to understand healthy forms of masculinity.
Liz Carr spoke candidly about her struggles with the NHS to be seen as an individual outside of her wheelchair to get appropriate medical treatment for menopause and her thoughts towards assisted suicide. Errollyn Wallen CBE discussed the power of music to create momentums to join groups and open discussions across all kinds of barriers and her hopes for the future of how her music can have a positive impact on others. Anoushka Shankar, discussed her musical career and performed a beautiful piece which had many of the audience crying in wonder. Sandi Toksvig discussed the importance of being a feminist for both her granddaughters and grandsons in order to make a better world for all of them. She also passionately discussed her new project which will be a website focusing on the achievements of women and BAME in history and firmly putting them back into the discussion they have historically been excluded from.
Annie Lennox’s reflection on her recent ADHD diagnosis was one of the most vulnerable and moving moments of the evening. She discussed how her neurodivergence had shaped her career and personal life, highlighting both the struggles and the empowering aspects of living with ADHD. She also discussed the importance of the work of The Circle, her feminist charity designed to support women and reflected on her work as a “Global Feminist” and her involvement in the HIV and AIDs crisis, where women and children were highly affected by this epidemic but is still not reported in modern media. Discussions also included changing societies view to how we discuss sexual assault and rape, the impact of domestic violence and how we need to open up the conversation to better support all survivors of abuse and ensure that its advent decreases. There were also many discussions on closing the medical gap to do more research on endometriosis, menopause and other reproductive issues which women face and are treated as if they don’t exist in much of modern media.
The biggest part of the event was the conversation led between Jude Kelly and Angela Davis. Discussing Davis’s history as an activist and her thoughts on the modern political landscape, including how support can be led for women who can’t speak or who are facing persecution, including Palestine, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iran. Davis was phenomenal in holding the entire audience in the palm of her hand. With many poignant notes of wisdom including feminism as a methodology, to ask the other question ergo if people are discussing gender what are they not asking about class or ethnic backgrounds and how society must tackle the intersectional issues of racism and classism in order to move forwards. She also firmly stressed for everyone “to not fall into the cult of individualism, change begins with movement and with communities.”
There was also an incredibly stirring performance by a 150-strong trans inclusive women’s choir with performers aged 8-80 years old which premiered a new choral piece song called Reign specifically commissioned to celebrate WOW’s 15 anniversary by award-winning composer Errollyn Wallen. This performance and its lyrics, especially the phrase just a little girl who’s not allowed to go to school resonated powerfully with both the audience and the panellists who made references to this lyric throughout the rest of the night. As well as this stirring song, to welcome us back to our seats after the interval we had a powerful and highly resonant performance by Organist Anna Lapwood. She performed a newly commissioned fanfare for the Royal Albert Hall's organ, composed especially by Isobel Waller-Bridge.
This atmosphere of joy was not just powerful, but a defiant act of solidarity among all attendees and speakers. Despite the best efforts of some to keep society apathetic and unmotivated, all the speakers discussed the importance of joy. Dame Jude Kelly repeatedly discussed that “joy is rebellious, and laughter is contagious spreading happiness and motivation wherever it goes.” Personally, there is nothing better than joy to remind us of our collective humanity. A single smile has the power to soften walls built by fear or despair, to bridge gaps between strangers, and to offer silent reassurance that we are not alone. It is a declaration that hope endures and the sun shall shine again. It is in our laughter, in the simple yet profound act of choosing to find and share that joy, that we ignite change.
The overall theme of this evening was the power we have as a collective, where small individual steps can create a great march towards great positive change for all. ¾ of all attendees of a WOW event go on to make significant changes in their lives and create positive changes, whether big or small for their local communities. To quote Jude Kelly “Despite the high tides pushing against women in the world currently we must still find the joy and laughter to keep us moving forwards to a better future.” I certainly hope I can be part of that number and put my own spark of joy into the world around me and encourage anyone reading this review to do the same. Let’s all find our own spark of joy and let it ignite the path toward a more inclusive and equal future.
