After more than five decades and 110 shows in Nelson, director Hugh Neill is preparing to bring a powerful story about women, education and equality to the Theatre Royal stage next week.
Jessica Swale’s Blue Stockings follows four young women studying at Girton College, Cambridge, in 1896, when women could attend university but were not allowed to graduate with degrees.
At the centre of the story is Tess Moffat and her fellow students, who are determined to be treated the same as their male classmates.
Over the course of the academic year, they face prejudice, class divisions, romance, and strong opposition to women gaining an education.
Set against the growing women’s suffrage movement, Hugh says the play explores the challenges faced by women who wanted more choice over their education and their futures.
“I enjoy scripts that have something to say. If you want to see a powerful piece of theatre, this is for you.”
The Nelson Repertory Theatre production has a cast of 17, including seven actors Hugh had never met before and another two he had never directed.
It is a change for Hugh, who “usually knows 80 – 90 percent” of the cast he works with.
Remarkably, Blue Stockings is the 110th show Hugh has been involved with in Nelson across 52 years.
His first was at the Theatre Royal in 1974, when he played a young King Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons.
He says Blue Stockings is likely to be the last play he directs for Nelson Repertory Theatre.
Blue Stockings runs at Theatre Royal Nelson from Thursday, 10 September, to Saturday, 12 September, with four performances, including a matinee. Tickets are available at here.
