Extraordinary Women is an innovative double bill of plays written over a century apart, one true, one deeply satirical, connected by their depiction of women achieving remarkable things despite strong opposition.

Eighty Days: The Nellie Bly Chronicles

The world premiere of this comedy-drama by Clitheroe author, David Cawley

Nellie Bly ready for her journey, gripsack in hand

Welcome to a ripping radio adventure telling the true, extraordinary story of 19th-century journalist Nellie Bly and her attempt to beat Phileas Fogg’s fictional 80-day race around the world. Bly’s witty no-nonsense character guides our journey through stormy seas, stifling trains, calamitous delays, sickness, questionable colonial characters and one particularly ill-tempered monkey.

No experience. No entourage. No maps and no patience. Just relentless ambition and one small grip sack.

Ultimately, Bly would challenge the limits placed on women of her era.

About Nellie Bly

Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in 1864. Writing as Nellie Bly, she was a pioneering American journalist who shattered societal norms for women in the late 19th century. Known for her fearless investigative reporting and stunts, she virtually invented the field of “stunt journalism”. It was her move to Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World that propelled her to national fame.

In 1887, Bly undertook what became her most famous assignment: feigning insanity to go undercover at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. Her exposé, “Ten Days in a Mad-House” detailed the horrifying neglect and abuse she witnessed, leading to a grand jury investigation, and significant reforms in the treatment of the mentally ill.

Then comes the adventure you are about to join her on…

About David Cawley

Born in Chester, David is a Freelance Copywriter working from his home beneath England’s second smallest Norman Keep. He is married to long time Stage Two member Andrea Cawley, and butler to Fitzroy, the Ginger Tom.

Somewhere in mid-2024, David found himself inspired to write this, his first play. Exactly how or why remains a mystery. Research and writing took about a year to complete - though, as anyone in Stage Two Downham will calmly confirm, David was still tinkering with the script well into the final recording process.

“There really is no better group of people with whom to bring Nellie’s story to life.”

The Cast of Eighty Days: The Nellie Bly Chronicles

How The Vote Was Won

by Cicely Hamilton & Christopher St. John

How The Vote Was Won is a sharp, funny one act suffrage play from 1909 that uses satire to expose the absurdity of denying women the vote. It imagines a mass women’s strike in London that forces men to confront how dependent society actually is on women’s labour.

The play is set in Brixton, London, in the home of Horace and Ethel Cole, on the day of a general women’s strike. The Government has declared that women do not need the vote because men “look after” them. In response, suffrage societies encourage all working women—factory workers, shop assistants, teachers, typists, journalists, domestic servants—to quit their jobs and demand financial support from their nearest male relative.

Suffragists marching and advertising a production of How The Vote Was Won

How The Vote Was Won was written and produced to support the cause of women’s suffrage. It asks the audience to imagine a world where women can vote, and offers the “story” of how that happened. In reality this was a decade before any women could vote in Britain, and almost 20 years before universal suffrage was achieved. It was a huge hit in Britain and the United States, touring both countries for many years. In Britain it was produced by the Actresses’ Franchise League, an organisation dedicated to suffrage and boasting many high profile members, including Sybil Thorndike, Italia Conti, and of course Cicely Hamilton & Christabel Marshall.

About Cicely Hamilton & Christopher St. John

Cicely Hamilton was born in 1872 in London, and educated in Germany. She started as an actress with some success, but soon turned to writing. She was a committed suffragist, and a founder of the Women Writers’ Suffrage League. During The Great War she worked for the Red Cross, and later wrote a number of plays and novels. She was also a journalist, writing for various newspapers and magazines. How The Vote Was Won remains her best know work however. She died in Chelsea in 1952.

Christopher St. John was the pen name of Christabel Marshall. Born in Exeter in 1871, she studied Modern History at Oxford and became secretary to Winston Churchill’s mother Lady Randolph Churchill. She had a long successful career as a playwright, novelist, and actress. She was also a committed suffragist, and a member of the Women’s Social and Political Union. She died in 1960.

The Cast of How The Vote Was Won

Interval Refreshments

There will be a bar selling glasses of prosecco (and equally nice non-alcoholic alternatives) before and during the interval of each performance.

Pre-Theatre Meal at The Assheton Arms

We are delighted that once again The Assheton Arms in Downham will be offering a pre-theatre meal exclusively for Stage Two Downham ticket holders.

They will provide a two course meal for just £20, and will also make sure your meal is complete in time for you to make short journey to Downham Village Hall. Once you have bought your theatre tickets, call The Assheton Arms on 01200 439699 to reserve your table.