Stagecoach Bishops Stortford are a beacon of Female Empowerment at The Shaftesbury Theatre!

The young performers, aged 14 to 18, all from Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, joined Stagecoach schools from across the country to deliver a spectacular showcase of musical theatre. The group were inspired by their mainly female cast and created a piece around female empowerment. The students worked for 10 weeks to perfect their outstanding performance that focused on three female inventors from history who were mainly unsung heroines.

The students portrayed Marie Curie, who discovered radium and pioneered the X Ray machine, Ada Lovelace who was the world’s first computer programmer and Hedy Lamarr who as well as being an actress on the silver screen also invented (amongst other things) frequency hopping which led to the Internet and Bluetooth!

The dance pieces began with the young inventors trying to persuade people to listen to their ideas. The students used glowing orbs to represent the women’s ideas and how they were ignored or stolen. They then imagined how powerful things might have been had they not only been listened to but also had each other to lean on.

The piece was expertly choreographed by Stagecoach Bishops Stortford Manager Jonni Knight and was produced and costumed by Principal Miriam Leary-White.

Miriam was in awe of her student’s dedication to this exciting piece:

‘The students worked on their performance for 10 weeks and performed to an outstanding standard. They were all brilliant, so professional and impressive. The day was great fun, it was such a wonderful experience to take a piece that we were all so proud of to the West End stage! They created a performance piece that I am deeply proud of, and I want to shout about them to everyone who will listen!’

With performances like this, Stagecoach continues to offer young people opportunities to build their confidence, Creative Courage and take their new skills to extraordinary places.

‘The students love their Stagecoach family because it is their safe place and somewhere where they can express themselves and be accepted for who they are. They build confidence, make friends and learn life skills alongside the performing arts.’

Above: Stagecoach Bishops Stortford Students on stage at The Shaftesbury Theatre

Stagecoach Performing Arts has a proud history of helping children and young people build confidence and life skills. Over the past 36 years, more than one million students worldwide have benefited from its creative programmes. With a network of 60,000 students and 3,000 schools globally, Stagecoach empowers children with “Creative Courage for Life,” inspiring countless students to pursue their dreams in the performing arts.

For more information about Stagecoach Performing Arts Bishops Stortford, please visit www.stagecoach.co.uk/bishopsstortford or call Miriam Leary-White on 07743 356 219.