The newly discovered history of women who helped win the First World War is to be explored in the historical cabaret Wartime Women at the King’s Head Theatre on Armistice Day, Sunday 11th November.
Actress Fiona-Jane Weston pays homage to the courageous women who fought for both country and women’s rights. The stories of Suffragettes and other wartime heroines are dramatically brought to life in song, verse and personal accounts of the time.
Wartime Women at the King’s Head Theatre will include recently unearthed material about female entertainers on the battle fields. “These women risked their lives to entertain the troupes at the front line,” says Fiona-Jane, whose one-woman show has toured extensively, including to the very heart of Flanders Fields. “The top brass was initially against these women flaunting themselves in front of the soldiers, but when it was noticed what a good effect they had on morale, and when doctors saw their wounded patients healing faster, these concert parties received Royal approval and became an official part of the war effort.”
The poet Siegfried Sassoon referred to them as “warbling ladies in white”, but much of their story has only come to light in the last few years, thanks to the work of historians such as Anne Farthing and Dr. Viv Newman. Fiona-Jane has re-crafted her performance at the King’s Head Theatre to include rarely performed material from the time, such as That Ragtime Suffragette and another song with a rather familiar title. “Way before Lou Reed or Band Aid, a song called A Perfect Day was a hit both sides of the Atlantic,” said Weston. “And the men loved these women singing it as it reminded them of home, and an extraordinary thing happened in New York on the day the Armistice was signed whilst people were singing this song…” You’ll have to come to the show to find out what!
