What's On

The brand new British dance-theatre work (un)written (un)heard explores the untold history of Dorothy Lawrence, a 19-year old British journalist who rode a bicycle to the front line of World War I to write the story of the century - a move that ultimately caused her to end up fighting for the rest of her life.Best described as Joan of Arc on a bicycle, Dorothy had a tragic beginning and a tragic end but somewhere in the middle she achieved the unthinkable: she defied the patriarchy, she snubbed the War Office, and she became the only British woman solider to serve on the front line in the Great War. Her place in history should have been secured, but quite the opposite happened; unmoved and enraged by her actions, the powers that be placed her under military arrest and thereafter she was silenced and forgotten. Until now.

A joint effort between London based theatre companies 45North and Ellandar Productions, (un)written (un)heard sees the latter return to Fringe World Festival in 2020 for the play's world premiere. Reuniting director Jessica Rose McVay and playwright Iskandar R. Sharazuddin after collaborating on a successful Edinburgh season for Post-Mortem in 2019, the pair come together with choreographers Iona Kirk & Ellie Walker-Smith to craft a beautiful, lyrical, and contemporary piece of storytelling told with dance, movement, and gesture which finally places a forgotten woman in her rightful place and at the heart of the story.

(un)written (un)heard explores the story of a woman who fought for her very existence as a world of men tried to pull her apart. Her body. Her mind. Her spirit. Three dancers tell this story through evocative movement and physical theatre with a nuanced and atmospheric sound design.