There Are Secrets, Dear Sister…

Anna was commissioned by The Curve, Slough to write an original piece of theatre performed as part of the International Women’s Day celebrations in March 2018. The piece was co-devised, co-created, co-produced with performer Nisha Anil. Musician, composer and sound artist Rob Harris created an original score and verbatim soundscapes from interviews with local women.

'My Name Is' soundscape

'Sophia Duleep Singh' track performed by Nisha Anil and Rina Fatania

There Are Secrets, Dear Sister, by Anna Jones

When The Curve first approached Nisha and I about creating a piece of theatre for International Women’s Day 2018 it was a world before #MeToo #TimesUp #ImWithHer

Apart from, of course, it wasn’t – hash tags and headlines only reveal what we all know and fear.

And they don’t even begin to highlight the injustice and inequality faced by women across the world.

Our title ‘There Are Secrets, Dear Sister’ does not stem from the silence around pay gaps or the covering up of sexual intimidation and worse. They are words from a world before social media, from before electricity even – from a letter written from one sister to another in the late 1700s.

The line chimed with our wish to uncover stories of three women who lived in and around Slough – their achievements currently under told, under valued, under celebrated.

Each woman from a different culture, class, century.

Each connected by their determination, dedication, defiance – their fight to champion difference.

We were inspired by their thirst for knowledge, their desire to read, write, learn – harnessing the power of literacy and language to open up worlds.

We have also been inspired by women from across our town today, women who worked with us to inform, shape, create tonight’s piece of theatre. And by the women we love, no longer here.