Chichester Festival Theatre marks International Women’s Day

Join a Leave Her Wild workshop for girls aged five to 11 and their mums and carers or come along to a panel discussion on this year’s theme, #BreakTheBias.

* Leave Her Wild: International Women’s Day Taster, March 8, 4pm, Stephen Pimlott Building: Join Kerry Wharf, child play and creative arts therapist, for a special taster of her Leave Her Wild workshops. Aimed at primary school-aged girls and their mums, grannies or carers, Leave Her Wild provides a safe, fun and welcoming space to come together and connect, explore and empower each other to thrive in today’s world. Tickets: £12 per adult/child pair

* Fizz & Feminism: #Breakthebias, March 8, 7pm, Minerva Bar & Grill: Following a year of successful Fizz & Feminism events, CFT hosts an International Women’s Day panel on this year’s theme #BreakTheBias.

How to save money at the cinema - all you need to knowHost comedian, writer and podcaster Jen Brister is joined by CFT’s executive director Kathy Bourne; founder of the African Women’s Forum and retired nurse and teacher Marie Costa; and disability advocate Grace Thompson, who are all from Sussex or Hampshire, to discuss their lives, careers and the biases they’re breaking every day. Everyone is welcome to listen, enjoy and ask questions. Free, but booking is essential.

Jen Brister is a critically acclaimed stand-up comedian and writer who has been seen on the BBC’s Live at the Apollo, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, Hypothetical and Sara Pascoe’s comedy Lectures on Dave as well as BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz and The Now Show.

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She appeared in Chichester in 2019 as part of the Spiegeltent season.

She hosts a weekly podcast and is a regular co-host of The Guilty Feminist. Her sell-out show Meaningless can be streamed on Amazon Prime, NextUp or Soho Comedy.

Kathy Bourne became executive director of Chichester Festival Theatre in May 2019, sharing the leadership of the theatre with artistic director Daniel Evans. As associate and festival producer at Chichester Festival Theatre between 2006 and 2015, she managed over 75 shows, as well as CFT productions on tour. From 2015-19 she was executive producer at Jonathan Church Productions where she produced shows in the West End, as well as productions internationally and on tour.

Marie Costa has been part of the cultural fabric of Portsmouth since the 1960s and has worked as a nurse, teacher, midwife, businesswoman, university governor and community volunteer.

After founding the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Multicultural Group in the nineties, she founded the African Women’s Forum in 1996 which is still running today. Under her leadership the group led the commemoration of the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery in 2007 and the Mandela 100 community project in 2018.

Grace Thompson is an autistic, disabled adult. She founded and runs Butterfly Hope to work on her passion: creating a world where everyone can thrive and get the support that they need. She’s part of FLARE, the Department for Education’s national young SEND advisory group.

www.cft.org.uk.

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