Billy Nomates releases soundtrack to the new play Mary and the Hyenas which explores the life of the 18th century feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and is set to have its debut next month in Hull ahead of a transfer to London in March.
Pilot Theatre and Hull Truck Theatre will première Mary and the Hyenas, a new play written by Hull based playwright and co-lyricist Maureen Lennon which explores the life of the iconic 18th century British writer, philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.
Featuring an all-female cast, writing and directing team, the new production is set to open at the Hull Truck Theatre from 7 February – 1 March and will then transfer to the Wilton’s Music Hall in London from 18-29 March.
Ahead of the next month’s stage premiere Billy Nomates, will today, 17 January 2025, release the soundtrack via Invada Records. The original soundtrack features eleven brand new songs, with all music written by Billy Nomates, and lyrics by Billy Nomates and the playwright, Maureen Lennon. Listen to the Mary and the Hyenas soundtrack in full HERE.
Bristol based writer, performer and producer Tor Maries is the creator of Billy Nomates. She has performed across the UK and Europe, with notable appearances at Glastonbury and Later… with Jools Holland. Her 2023 album CACTI was released to widespread critical acclaim, with news of more new music coming soon via Invada Records.
Widely regarded as the mother of feminism, Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) was a moral and political philosopher whose analysis of the condition of women in modern society retains much of its original radicalism. She worked as a schoolteacher, a governess and as a translator for a London publisher. Her first published book Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787) foreshadowed her later work on the place of women in society, titled A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), which as its core is a plea for equality in the education of men and women. The Vindication is widely regarded as the founding document of modern feminism. In 1797 she married the philosopher, William Godwin. She died days after the birth of their daughter, Mary Shelley.
Tor Maries said about the new play: “I didn’t know about Mary Wollstonecraft. It seems history rarely embraces pioneering women. Her story is a compelling one. A true trailblazer, but a human being, ahead of her 1800s environment. I wanted to bring the music into the last few decades, a contemporary place, not wholly defined by now. An attitude and feeling that resonates across time and ages.”
Pilot Theatre is one of the UK’s leading touring theatre companies. Their vision is to produce work that sparks passion and ignites debate across the globe through our performances and digital networks. They create pioneering contemporary work celebrating diversity in all its forms with relevance to young people and the issues they face in their lives.
Hull Truck Theatre is a pioneering theatre with a unique Northern voice, locally rooted, global in outlook, inspiring artists, audiences, and communities to reach their greatest potential. They produce and present inspiring theatre that reflects the diversity of a modern Britain and provide the resources, space, and support to grow people and ideas.
Mary and the Hyenas was developed with the support of the National Theatre’s Generate programme.
For more information on Mary and the Hyenas visit pilot-theatre.com
