59 items

• New Queers on the Block Brighton (2019)
  
  Video documentation of the first New Queers on the Block performance a LGBTIQ+ focused touring project supported by Arts Council England. The performance was compered by Ophelia Bitz and featured Marikiscrycrycry, Hester Chillingworth, Stacy Makishi, Rachael Young and Sea Sharp. The video features interviews with Ema Boswood (Programme Coordinator), Subira Wahogo (Production Assistant) and Tarik Elmoutawakil (Creative Director)
• Parade Protest Perform Flyer (2011)
  
  Parade Protest Perform Flyer (2011)
• Photo Album: New Ways of Living (2016)
  
  Promotional photoshoot for dance theatre performance 'New Ways of Living' choreographed by Gary Clarke. The photos feature performer Eleanor Perry with makeup inspired by The Bloolips. The photoshoot took place on St James St int he Morrisons lift and carpark, outside the former One Stop Travel Shop and in the electrical retailer Deans. Photo credit Katariina Jarvinen / Light Trick Photography
• Photos from Bubbles
  
  A collection of images from Siren's show 'Bubbles'. 1. This shows Jane Boston in ‘Bubbles’, taken for a performance in Deptford, London. 2. This shows Hilary Ramsden inn ‘Bubbles’, taken for a performance in Deptford, London.
• Photos from From the Divine
  
  A collection of images from Siren's show 'From the Divine'. 1. This shows a photo of Tasha Fairbanks as Harry, together with the ventriloquist’s dummy, also called Harry. Tasha learnt ventriloquism from a book she took out of the library, leading up to the show. In most of the plays, it was mainly Tasha who cross-dressed to take the male parts. 2. This shows two photos from the contact sheet of photos of “From the Divine’. The first is of Jude Winter as Lily dancing with Tasha Fairbanks as Harry. The second is of Jane Boston as Ruby, with Tasha Fairbanks and Jude Winter. Although Siren always requested the return of their photos, this often did not happen, leaving the company without the original prints, hence the use of the contact sheet to show some of the images. 3. This shows a photo from the contact sheet of photos of ‘From the Divine’. It is over Jude Winter as Lily the ‘sweet good girl,’ dancing to the music of Jane Boston as Ruby, the ‘naughty bad girl’, as women were often portrayed during the war. Siren began embracing glamour for this play, leaving behind much of the agitprop look of the earlier shows.
• Photos from Mama's Gone A'Hunting
  
  A collection of images from Siren's show 'Mama's Gone A'Hunting'. 1. This shows a photo of one of the first performances of Mama’s Gone A’Hunting, with Jane Boston, Jude Winter and Tash Fairbanks. Taken by Susy Taylor. 2. This shows a photo of Jude Winter, Jane Boston and Tash Fairbanks in Mama’s Gone A-Hunting. Taken by Dianne Ceresa. 3. This shows a photo of Jude Winter and Tash Fairbanks in Mama’s Gone A-Hunting. Taken by Dianne Ceresa. 4. This shows a photo of Tash Fairbanks in the foreground as Man, and Jane Boston behind her, as the Judge. Taken by Dianne Ceresa. 5. This is one of the few colour photos of Mama’s Gone A’Hunting, showing Jude Winter, Tash Fairbanks and Jane Boston, together with a life-size dummy of a man. Taken by Susy Taylor.
• Photos from Now Wash Your Hands Please
  
  A collection of images from Siren's show 'Now Wash Your Hands Please'. 1. This shows a photo for ‘Now Wash Your Hands Please’. Pictured from left to right Jude Winter as P.R, Hilary Ramsden as Phyllis, and Tasha Fairbanks as Polly. 2. This shows a photo of Jude Winter as P.R and Tasha Fairbanks as Bert, dressed in a train conductor's uniform. 3. This shows a photo of Jude Winter as P.R. and Tash Fairbanks as Bert in a train conductor's uniform, wrapped in toilet roll.
• Programme for Siren's play 'From the Divine'
  
  Digital Reproduction of the centre pages and back page of the programme for the Siren Play 'From the Divine'. 1. This shows the people involved in the production, as well as a breakdown of scenes in Act 1 and Act 2 of the play. The programme acknowledges funding (for the first time) for Siren from South East Arts Association and Eastern Arts Association. 2. This shows an advert from the GLC Women’s Committee welcoming Siren to London with its anti-war play, ‘From the Divine’. It has an image of the GLC Peace Statue from the South Bank in London.
• Pulp and Other Plays (1996)
  
  1.This shows the cover of a book of three plays by Siren; Curfew, Pulp and Now Wash Your Hands Please. The cover is a photo of Jude Winter as Wonder Woman in the play Curfew. "After Siren had stopped performing, many academics published books on early feminist lesbian theatre in the UK. Key academic feminist theatre historians, Elaine Aston and Gabrielle Griffin interviewed the members of Siren for the book. Siren, at the time of Pulp, was Jane Boston, Tash Fairbanks, Hilary Ramsden, Jude Winter and Debra Trethewey. This book is still available to purchase in a variety of bookshops and online." 2. This is the frontispiece for the play Curfew, devised by Siren, scripted by Tasha Fairbanks, which opened at The Nightingale Theatre, Brighton 1982. It was directed by the company. It also shows the frontispiece for the play ‘Now Wash Your Hands Please’, scripted by Tasha Fairbanks from discussion and workshops with Siren. The play opened at The Nightingale Theatre, Brighton in 1984. It was directed by Sue Saunders. "Siren was joined by a new actor, Hilary Ramsden for the play, Now Wash Your Hands Please. She remained as part of Siren until the company disbanded in 1990." 3. This describes the set as a giant toilet seat. 4. Photo credit Dianne Ceresa This shows a photograph of Jane Boston as Charlene, Jude Winter as Fi and Tasha Fairbanks as Tracey from the play Curfew, which opened at The Nightingale Theatre, Brighton in 1982. "The play ‘Curfew’ is set in the future in a lesbian club. The set, which was designed by Deb Trethewey, was a cage-like child’s climbing frame, indicating women were getting nowhere. The only other design feature onstage was a large black box with a bright X shaped light, set up high, and was there to remind women that everything was forbidden unless sanctioned by men. The play opened in 1982, a few years before Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale was published." 5. Photo credit Anita Corbin This shows a photo of Tasha Fairbanks as Dolores from the play Pulp. It was directed by Noelle Janaczewska and opened at The Drill Hall in London in 1985. "As with Curfew, Pulp dealt with the issue of how you live as a lesbian in a society that vilifies homosexuality. As research for Pulp, Siren read a lot of lesbian pulp fiction from the ‘50s (no hardship there!). The novels were full of transgressive, obsessive lesbians and their, almost always, disastrous liaisons, played out in dim basement bars."
• Siren Plays Record & Sleeve
  
  A scanned image set of the Siren Theatre Company 1982 vinyl record and sleeve 'Siren Plays', released by 'Stroppy Cow records’. It shows a list of the inner sleeve with the lyrics of 10 songs composed by various members of Siren and performed by Siren. It also shows photographs of Siren on the back cover, namely Jane Boston guitar, Jude Winter keyboards, Debra Trethewey drums and Tasha Fairbanks saxophone. This was Siren’s first time in a professional studio. Being penniless, as usual, Siren cut the cost by doing the half price all-night sessions. Memories of a lot of coffee and biscuits, being shaken awake every few hours to stagger over to an instrument and try to remember which song you were supposed to be recording. The album sold at Vinyl Demand, Odd Volume, Subway Records and at the Women’s Centre.
• Siren Theatre Company 'Curfew' programme
  
  This shows the programme from the play ‘Curfew’. The front cover is a drawing of a women kicking out in self-defence. It gives a description of the play and a background of Siren. The play was directed by Pippa Gladhill. The programme acknowledges the poem (used in part) by Ntozake Shange “With No Immediate Cause’. The cover of the programme was created by Wendy Thompson. The image was also the poster for the play. The image of the women kicking out was taken from a photo and an article in the Brighton Argus about ‘Tiger Tash’ who taught women self-defence. The ’Tash’ referred to was Siren’s Tasha Fairbanks. The play was set in a lesbian club and explored themes of male violence against women.
• Siren Theatre Company 'Now Wash Your Hands Flyer'
  
  A digital reproduction of the flyer (front & back) advertising Siren’s play ‘Now Wash Your Hands Please’. The play opened at the Nightingale Theatre in Brighton, and was directed by Sue Saunders. Siren was joined by a new company member, Hilary Ramsden, for this play and for future Siren plays. Jane Boston did not perform in this play.
• Siren Theatre Company Brighton & Hove Gazette Newspaper Article (1983)
  
  A newspaper about Siren Theatre Company in the Brighton & Hove Gazette Newspaper in 1983 concerning the group receiving a loan of £2500 from Midland Bank to produce their album. The article inaccurately says Siren formed “eight months ago”, which would have been in 1982, but Siren actually started in 1979 and produced their first play (with music) in 1980. The article referred to the Midland Bank in Dyke Road as being ‘behind Brighton’s lesbian rock band’. The bank was actually not aware that it was lending money to a lesbian band, which in 1983 was not a trendy thing to do!
• Siren Theatre Company Brighton Leader Newspaper Article (1987)
  
  Digital scan of a Brighton Leader Newspaper Article about a Siren performance of their play 'Hotel Destiny' at The Nightingale in Brighton, 1987. This shows a photo of Jane Boston as the character ‘Chance’ in Siren’s play ‘Hotel Destiny’. The photo was taken by Anita Corbin (but the photo is not of Ms Corbin, as wrongly described). The preview was for the opening of ‘Hotel Destiny’ at the Nightingale Theatre in Brighton.
• Siren Theatre Company Mama's Gone A'Hunting Flyer (top & lower half)
  
  This is one of a number of posters used to promote Siren’s play ‘Mama’s Gone A’Hunting’. It is created in the form of an urgent telegram outlining the plot of the show, stating that woman intends leaving for a new planet without man. The digitally produced poster was felt to be a ‘new’ form of photography at the time that it was on the high street, predating all the digitisation of photos that are now done on one’s own devices. Siren felt it reflected the futuristic content of the play.