WOW – Women of the World will head off on tour this month with a brand-new live series, The WOW Show with Jude Kelly. WOW’s Founder and acclaimed theatre director will invite conversation around our often exasperating and confusing journey towards gender equity with audiences at theatres around the country.
Produced in a new partnership with esk, Jude will share the stage with a different line-up of special guests at each venue, including amazing women and non-binary people local to each area who are making change happen – challenging stereotypes, bucking the trend, and who have inspiring personal stories to share. These local heroes have been nominated by their communities for their work to better the lives of people in their area.
Writer, stylist and consultant Aja Barber and poet Caroline Bird will join The WOW Show at the Exchange Theatre in Twickenham in conversation with Jude Kelly on 10 October. The line-up will also include a performance from bagpiper Millie Scott, and local heroes and changemakers Natalie O’Rourke, founder of Park Lane Stables which supports children and adults with disabilities; the Meet and Deep family, whose much loved newsagent created a community hub within their shop; and Jill Lorimer, Head of Campaigns at WEP, Richmond who helps organise the monthly candlelit vigil at Twickenham Green, to commemorate Amelie Delagrange who was attacked and killed on her way home.
Celebrated businesswoman, broadcaster, author and activist Mary Portas OBE will join Jude at The Theatre Chipping Norton on 11 October alongside local heroes: children’s author Lela Burbridge, founder of The Lela Project a not-for-profit publishing house who use their book proceeds to fund library projects in Uganda; and Lisa Ward, a Violence Against Women & Girls activist, researcher and consultant. There’ll also be traditional Levantine dancing with Lana Al-Shami.
Journalists, writers and broadcasters Sali Hughes and Afua Hirsch will be in conversation with Jude at the Brighton Dome Studio Theatre on 12 October alongside local heroes Molly Mathieson, founder of award winning charity New Note Projects which engages and supports people affected by addiction, homelessness and challenging mental health; Ceyda Tanc, founder of all-female dance company, Ceyda Tanc Dance, that challenges traditional gender representation in dance; and student and carer Joyce Coomber Sewell who provides mentorship to autistic students.
Journalist, writer and founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, Laura Bates and journalist and author Kieran Yates will join Jude for the final stop of The WOW Tour, at York Theatre Royal on 13 October. Featuring a mind-boggling demonstration from champion Rubik cube speed solver Katie Moughan Davis, they will also be joined by local heroes Abigail Gaines, founder of the Make Space for Girls project which addresses the drop off in park usage as girls enter their teenage years; and Shamim Eimaan, founder of Eimaan Culture and Community Services CIC which focuses on promoting activities to improve equality, diversity, inclusion, health and wellbeing. We’ll also have poetry by Sharena Lee Satti and a final bagpipe performance by Millie Scott.
Alongside personal anecdotes, big picture analysis and tales of incredible women you may have never heard of but who changed the course of history, each evening will crowdsource burning issues and ideas local audiences want to talk about, covering everything from money, sex, race, food, ageing and more, as WOW and audiences will discover along the way.
Jude Kelly said: “I’m excited to be hitting the road with WOW and heading off on tour. Wherever WOW is in the world, the thing I enjoy most is meeting local heroines and unearthing stories of the incredible things people are doing in their communities. It’s WOW’s 15th anniversary in 2025, and although we are far from having a gender equal society, there is still a huge amount to celebrate. I’m looking forward to meeting the people that are making change happen in their local towns and cities, and joining with audiences as we celebrate together this autumn.”
The WOW Show with Jude Kelly follows recent WOW Festivals in Rotherham and Manchester in the UK, and in Pakistan, Turkey, Greece and Australia, all of which have taken place in the build-up to WOW’s 15th anniversary in 2025. Founded in 2010, WOW Festivals and events celebrate women, girls and non-binary people and take a frank look at the obstacles they face. Run by charity The WOW Foundation, WOW has reached five million people across the globe to date.
The WOW Foundation is proudly supported by its Global Founding Partner Bloomberg and Global Girls Champion Standard Chartered.
