Cornwall Woman

Within a year of giving up a successful career in education to pursue a lifelong ambition to be a playwright, Sarah Connors was being nominated for prestigious national playwriting awards. Next year, three of her plays will be staged and big name theatres are taking a keen interest in producing her work. For this episode, recorded between rehearsals at The Minack Theatre, Sarah talks about the key advice she put into practice to help her tackle imposter syndrome and she talks candidly about the painful years trying for a baby – an experience which has fed into her powerful production Tre in which Mary Woodvine plays a childless woman.  Click hear to book for Tre at The Minack.   

Ella was 40 when she decided to start writing poetry. Since then she's created the Mor Poets collective, published Morvoren, the poetry of sea swimming, and organised workshops and poetry evenings across Cornwall.  When she was a little girl, a dramatic storm brought her family to Cornwall. Her own family now live on a boat during the summer and the sea is a strong current through her writing. Join us down on the shoreline to find out what's in store this summer for Ella. Find out more about the Mor Poets collective here.   

Epic outdoor productions, unique open-air sculpture and mesmerising performances across Cornwall and the world – Sue Hill can do it all. She's worked with Kneehigh, Wildworks, the Minack, the Eden Project to name just a few, flying the flag for Cornwall, her home county. Produced and presented by Karen Pirie Music by Alisdair Stirling 

It's 20 years since the feminist production hub launched itself onto the world. Since then they have staged countless performances, ushered new female voices into the limelight and brought classic works screaming into the 21st century. Hear from the women who are making it happen. Find out what a Mayven is – are you one? And hear from other key women in Cornwall's cultural scene. Produced and Presented by Karen Pirie for Western Sounds. Music by Alisdair Stirling 

International focus is on Mary as she takes the lead in Mark Jenkin's highly anticipated follow-up to Bait – Enys Men. She's appeared in countless theatre productions across Cornwall and was a core member of Kneehigh Theatre in the 90s. And she's been seen on our small screens in everything from Eastenders to Poldark. Mary talks about the challenge of taking on the intense role, the responsibility of being a leading lady in her 50s, the nightmare of her first day on EastEnders and scooping the naughtiest line of the series in Poldark.  

A celebration of Cornwall's leading ladies in the performing arts. 

When Cora first started skateboarding there were hardly any female role models - so Cora helped launch one of the first ever events for female skateboarders. Since then she's taught scores of girls and women how to skate.  Hear her thoughts on public space, battling sexism on the skatepark and why she loves life in Cornwall. 

Yasmine is a world class fencer, one of the leaders of Truro's Black Lives Matter protests and she has helped feed many of Falmouth's homeless people. She's currently studying international politics at Exeter University's Penryn campus. She talks candidly about the shocking racism she has experienced since moving here and the education campaign she's hoping will help turn the tide on racism in Cornwall.  George Floyd's death made Yasmine think again about what she's prepared to put up with in her own life and has caused her to break off some friendships. She has also launched a petition calling on the National Trust to commemorate the lives of slaves at Tregnwainton Gardens near Penzance https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/dark-past-cornwalls-trengwainton-estate-4219730 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2020/jul/29/young-british-black-voices-behind-uk-anti-racism-protests-george-floyd#36    

Rebecca runs her own proudly feminist theatre company which aims to level the playing field for women in theatre, champion the lost women of history and make women in the audience leave feeling great about themselves. She believes that Cornwall's outdoor theatre network will see us leading the way in the return to live theatre. She's also spearheading a national project to celebrate and archive testimony from the fearless women of Greenham Common peace camp. And she talks about her own experiences there as a campaigning five-year-old!    https://scarylittlegirls.co.uk/ https://scarylittlegirls.co.uk/community/heritage-and-collaboration/greenham-women-everywhere/ https://www.kerpowcornwall.com/  

More cool Cornish women on living life their way in Cornwall.

Twenty-one-year-old Emily Stevenson wore a dress made of crisp packets to her graduation ceremony to highlight beach litter. It's her mission to keep Cornwall's beaches plastic free. David Attenborough is a fan. Emily talks about the wellbeing benefits of being in the open air and how beach cleaning helps her put the trauma of childhood bullying behind her.

As a single woman, research suggests that writer Jane Pugh should be miserable and expect a curtailed lifespan. But the richness of her creative life in Cornwall, and the enjoyment she shares with friends and family makes her happier than many married people. She talks about sea swimming in winter, how to write convincingly, and why she quit her job in TV drama. And she reads from her acclaimed short story "Life Girl" which is by turns laugh out loud funny, and piercingly poignant.

Rachel Lambert has been teaching foraging on the coast paths and beaches of Cornwall for more than 10 years. Rachel shares her knowledge of the unfamiliar but delicious tastes, nutritional value and ecological importance of seaweed. She talks about how foraging keeps her in touch with nature and the seasons and how, in today's busy world, it helps her think about the way she uses time. Join us on a bright and blustery autumn day on a stoney beach near Falmouth. 

A Hallowe'en special with village wise women Cassandra and Laetitia. Cassandra was Britain's first ever tax-paying witch! They talk about magic spells, historic witchhunts and their black cat, a keen hunter of ingredients for their cabinet of curiosities. Find out more about the history of Cornwall's pagan festivals, their favourite potent Cornish locations and their involvement in the All Hallow's "Dark Gathering" at Boscastle.   

A taster of the new podcast about cool Cornish women and their love affair with Cornwall.