FLIGHT - Powerhouse Plays
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, 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 Sprintwatch
Ticketing Information:
Date: Wed 20 June
Time: 7:30pm
Ticket: £12, to book: https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/events/flight-powerhouse-plays/
Artists Biographies
CAROLINE KENNEDY
Caroline is a director and theatre maker with a passion for new writing. Her directing credits include; Jaan and Knifes and Forks: Memories of Partition(Royal Exchange Theatre), Animals (PossAbilities). As Assistant Director; The Tale of Mr Tumble (Manchester International Festival), Just Turf (Aqueous Humour).
Caroline is Participation Programme Manager for M6 Theatre Company in Rochdale; creating inclusive, original devised theatre and films with young people aged 8-18.
ZOE MILLS
Stage credits include: Killing Time (Word Mills); The Drowned Man (Punchdrunk/The National Theatre); Lost Lending Library (Punchdrunk); Great Expectations, Dry Rotand Bedroom Farce (Theatre By The Lake); Brazil and Back to the Future (Secret Cinema); Effie’s Burning (Soho Theatre).
TV and Film credits include: Emmerdale (ITV); Mindgames (online pilot).
Zoe also writes and has a theatre company, Word Mills Productions. She is represented by Pemberton Associates.
CHRISTOPHER HOLLINSHEAD
Stage credits include: Treasured, I Love Vinegar Vera (Cut to the Chase); Macbeth (Feelgood Theatre); Romeo and Juliet (Northern Broadside); Vieux Carre (Library Theatre); Myasthenia Gravis (Contact Theatre); Romeo and Juliet (Royal Exchange Theatre); A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Hamlet (Festival Theatre); Richard III (Demi-Paradise Productions); Loot (New Victoria Theatre); Chimerica (Ensemble, Harold Pinter Theatre).
TV and Film credits include: Emmerdale (ITV); Coronation Street (ITV); The Street (BBC); Cucumber (Red Productions); Hollyoaks (Lime Pictures); Eaten by Lions (Mecca Films).
Christopher is represented by BBA Management.
DAVID HAWORTH
David trained on the Technical Theatre Arts Degree course at Rose Bruford College then completed a post-grad course in Theatre Design at Motley, London. He is an experienced designer, working extensively in small and medium scale touring over the last 20 years.
His early work was with building-based companies such as Salisbury Playhouse and Colchester Mercury Theatre, he then moved into rural touring, becoming Associate Director at Forest Forge Theatre Co where he designed over 70 productions, writing and directing around 20 plays of his own. As a scenic artist, David has painted shows all over the country including productions for Home in Manchester and Oldham Coliseum (a theatre he has also designed three productions for) The National Theatre, The Almeida, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Battersea Arts Centre and The Tricycle in London, Liverpool Everyman and Bath Theatre Royal to name a few.
Since moving to Manchester in 2015 David has designed ‘A Kidnapping’ for Swaggering Crow Theatre Co at The Hope Mill Theatre and several productions at The Edge Theatre in Chorlton. He is currently designing a new piece called ‘Hidden’ by Vickie Donoghue with Stuart Mullins from Cardboard Citizens, while writing a new storytelling piece based on Grimm’s Rumpelstiltskin, that he will direct and design for BumbleFly Theatre Co later this year. David is also developing a workshop programme with the homeless community of Manchester which will result in a touring piece of installation art and performance, called ‘My Wildest Dreams’ which looks at childhood aspirations and how they can get lost along the way.