Storyhouse Women Weekend Festival

A festival which celebrates women and girls and explores issues which are important to them will be held at Storyhouse this spring.

Storyhouse Women takes place at the Hunter Street venue on the weekend of 11-12 March and has been created after extensive consultation with individuals, women’s groups and young people throughout the Chester community. 

The two-day festival will include talks, conversations, workshops and storytelling for children. 

Among the subjects it will tackle are the menopause, mental health, body image, money and grassroots sports opportunities for girls and women, with sessions taking place on the main Storyhouse stage, Garret Theatre, Garret Bar, Storytelling Room, Meeting Room and Kitchen. 

Events are either free or cost a maximum of £5. 

Storyhouse Women opens on Saturday, 11 March with Girls and Women in Football. The success of England’s Lionesses in the 2022 Euros put women’s football firmly in the spotlight. The event on the main Storyhouse stage will see a panel of high-profile women who work in the sport enjoy a relaxed discussion involving their own personal stories and the young people they are coaching and mentoring.  

The panel will former Liverpool and Manchester City player – and founder of the Miss Kick sportwear brand and Foundation – Grace Vella and Lowri Teagan Earith, founder of Girls and Goals. 

How to Support your Mental Health When You’re Self-Employed will be discussed in the Garret Theatre, where TEDx speaker and entrepreneur Cody Gapare and coach Marie-Claire Ashcroft will share personal stories about the challenges they have faced navigating building their own businesses, the pandemic and mental health. 

The Garret is also the location for The Female Brain and Hormones. Historically, mental health research has been focused on males, but here psychotherapist Gemma Leathley and therapeutic outreach worker Michaela Dalton will explore the current findings of research into female brain development from right before birth into later life, and how hormone cycles mean everything we know is ‘true’ is true only for men. 

Commonwealth boxing champion, and talented footballer, Stacey Copeland will also take to the Garret stage to talk about her story and sporting achievements, the foundation in 2017 of her charity Pave the Way, and challenging gender stereotypes and promoting gender equality in sport. 

The Garret Bar hosts How to Manage Your Money an hour-long session with the community team from the NatWest who will share top tips on how to manage your money. It will be followed by Dealing With Change, a therapeutic workshop using art to deal with a life change and run by Polish designer Kasia Pikula and 

Chester-based art therapist Rachel Clarke, and by a Mental Health First Aid Kit Workshop in the company of mental health charity founder Ruth Williams.  

Meanwhile youngsters aged six to 10 can get involved in Feminist Den, with fun, friendly games and conversation for budding feminists in the Storytelling Room. Three sessions will be run by Storyhouse's Youth Theatre Leaders Molly and Lottie. 

Finally in the Garret Theatre festival goers can try Cooking on a Budget. Enjoy an hour of conversation and cooking in the company of food lovers Bhupinder Virdee-Lace and Lisa Hinze. There will also be an audience Q&A and a chance to sample what’s cooked. 

The festival continues on Sunday, 12 March with another full range of fascinating events and sessions throughout the building. 

Head for the Storyhouse stage for How to be a Better Communicator, an interactive workshop in which Maggie Chen from Girls in Charge will guide people through the steps needed for effective communication, confidence and networking in a real and digital world. 

It will be followed by Using Movement for Overcoming Negative Body Image. Join Fallen Angels Dance Theatre’s Claire Morris and community dancers from Storyhouse’s company in residence as they stage an intimate performance, open discussion on negative body image and a movement workshop. 

And mental health nurse and children’s cognitive behavioural therapist Cara Lisette will talk about Mental Health and Social Media. The session aimed at anyone aged 11 and over will also include a panel discussion with Storyhouse Youth Theatre assistant and Young Programmers Coordinator Phoebe Orsmond, a member of Young Storyhouse Leaders and Manchester-based mental health charity 42nd Street.   

Then Ella Rose Dove will be interviewed by broadcaster and keen triathlete Louise Minchin. Ella is a journalist, author, speaker and trustee of the Limbless Association who herself lost her right leg below the knee in a freak jogging accident. The event will include and audience Q&A. 

The former BBC Breakfast Time presenter will then be joined by Dr Helen Kini for a conversation about the menopause, their own personal experiences and how it can have an impact on a woman’s career. Over the last couple of years the pair have been on a mission to visit companies, change policy and educate women and girls keen to find out more. 

Meanwhile the neighbouring Garret Bar hosts the talk and workshop Menopause: A Transition to Wise Woman in which midwife and menopause expert Samantha Bull explains how Western society has come to see the menopause as a condition that needs treatment. There will also be guided relaxation and meditation, while those taking part will also have the opportunity to book one of four one-to-one Womb Healing Massages which will take place in the Storyhouse Meeting Room. 

Budding entrepreneurs should head for How to Sell Handmade Products Online in which graphic artist and successful online seller and mentor Becka Griffin will share invaluable tips on the different internet platforms, along with packaging and postage options, legalities, product descriptions and search engine optimisation (SEO). 

And there will be three Incredible Women for Kids storytelling sessions during the day in the Storytelling Room, where members of the Storyhouse library team and Young Leaders will read aloud from the inspiring Little People, Big Dreams books held in the library collection. 

Finally, throughout the weekend comedian, improviser and festival compère Kate McCabe will be in the Storyhouse Kitchen, introducing the events and making sure everyone gets the most out of their festival experience. 

Storyhouse creative director Suzie Henderson says: “I’m so pleased Storyhouse can present this fantastic new festival this spring, celebrating Chester’s women and girls and helping them to flourish. 

“We consulted women and young people across the city and the surrounding area, and they told us what was important to them – and the programme, created with the community, looks at a wide range of issues from mental health and the menopause to sporting opportunities for girls and women of all ages. 

“Festivalgoers can expect to hear from a whole host of leading speakers and practitioners who are all passionate about their expert fields, and I know everyone who attends – whether they’re eight or 80 – will find the weekend enlightening and stimulating. I know I will.” 

Find out more and book at:

https://www.storyhouse.com/storyhouse-women