Famous People You've Never Heard Of

Constance Lloyd was born into a wealthy family.  She wrote and published children's stories.  She was an advocate of the dress reform movement.  She married the love of her life and had two children.  The love of her life was Oscar Wilde.  It did not end well.

Lexi Wolfe has written and performs in the play "A Forgotten Woman: Mrs Oscar Wilde", which is on tour and playing the Edinburgh Festival Fringe..  

Follow Slade Wolfe on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/sladewolfeenterprises/

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Elizabeth Blake has written  -and performs in "Fossil Mary", a new  play celebrating the life and remarkable discoveries of Mary Anning, the pioneering fossil hunter who found her first dinosaur skeleton at the age of 12 and whose skills led to the discovery of nearly every important dinosaur fossil of the early 19th Century.  Her work changed the way people thought about the evolution of life on earth but she was poor, working class and a woman, and men took the credit for her discoveries. However, in 2010 the Royal Society recognised her as one of the 10 most influential female scientists in British history.

In this episode Elizabeth chats to Lottie about Mary and the play.  Our "last word" is from Brenda Longman, who directed "Fossil Mary".

The play started life at the Phoenix Arts Centre in Hampshire, where Elizabeth is an associate artist.  The Phoenix champions new writing.  Check out what they're up to here:
https://www.phoenixarts.co.uk/

Host:  Lottie Walker

Guests:  Elizabeth Blake & Brenda Longman

Voice of Father:  Nicholas Lumley

Voice of Mother:  Brenda Longman

Voice of Angry Woman:  Sally McIlhone

Editor:  Gordon Vowles

Music:  Courtesy Pond 5

Support the show

Thank you for listening.   If you've enjoyed today's podcast  do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode and you can catch up on past episodes.

If you'd like to help us keep the studio lights on please click the "support the podcast" link above. 

Details of all our upcoming shows and how to access our albums etc are here:
https://linktr.ee/BlueFireTheatreCo

And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you!
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The Leaf Collective are presenting their play A Little Green Leaf a this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  

The play is inspired by the life of Odette Hallowes (MBE, Legion d’Honneur, George Cross), Britain’s most highly decorated spy of the Second World War. This play tells the story of Odette’s service as an agent of the Special Operations Executive, resilience in the face of Gestapo brutality, survival of Ravensbruck concentration camp, and her remarkable ability to retain her light, humanity and compassion in the face of unimaginable suffering. A Little Green Leaf is a poignant and timely reminder of sacrifice, courage and how one achieves peace.

find out more about the show:
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-little-green-leaf

Support the show

Thank you for listening.   If you've enjoyed today's podcast  do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode and you can catch up on past episodes.

If you'd like to help us keep the studio lights on please click the "support the podcast" link above. 

Details of all our upcoming shows and how to access our albums etc are here:
https://linktr.ee/BlueFireTheatreCo

And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you!
Find us at:

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1914. The Great War rages. Britain recruits 30,000 Bantams, men between five-foot and five-foot-three to fight in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. 1918. A group of reporters visit the Front to write about the Bantams. One Bantam remains, Patrick Michael Wolfe, a Dubliner who signed up to secure Home Rule for Ireland. This is his story. A story about patriotism, prejudice, courage and betrayal. Inspired by real events.

Michael Hughes' one man show "The Last Bantam" is on tour and plays at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in august 2026.

Follow Michael on Insta:  https://www.instagram.com/thelastbantam1/

Further reading:  
Bantams - by Sydney Allinson

Imperial War Museums - https://www.iwm.org.uk/

Guest:  Michael Hughes

Host:  Lottie Walker

Editor: Gordon Vowles

Music:  Pond 5

Support the show

Thank you for listening.   If you've enjoyed today's podcast  do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode and you can catch up on past episodes.

If you'd like to help us keep the studio lights on please click the "support the podcast" link above. 

Details of all our upcoming shows and how to access our albums etc are here:
https://linktr.ee/BlueFireTheatreCo

And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you!
Find us at:

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Mary McKinnon was a businesswoman in the 19th century.  Her business was a brothel and bar.  One fateful day trouble broke out and Mary's demise was swift and merciless.

Her story is an excellent illustration of how the law at the time - and society in general was heavily biased against women and the working class.

Fat Pooch Productions are presenting a brand new play about Mary at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In this episode they tell us a little about Mary and a little about the play and how they've created it.    

For further reading about Edinburgh in Mary's time we recommend:
"The Town Below Ground", by Jan-Andrew Henderson

Guests:  Julie Gonzalez-Franco & Jade L Hutchison

Follow Fat Pooch on social media:

Facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/p/Fat-Pooch-Productions-61581529208800/

Insta:
https://www.instagram.com/fatpoochproductions/

Host:  Lottie Walker

Editor:  Gordon Vowles

Music:  Courtesy Pond5

Support the show

Thank you for listening.   If you've enjoyed today's podcast  do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode and you can catch up on past episodes.

If you'd like to help us keep the studio lights on please click the "support the podcast" link above. 

Details of all our upcoming shows and how to access our albums etc are here:
https://linktr.ee/BlueFireTheatreCo

And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you!
Find us at:

https://www.instagram.com/bluefire_tc
https://www.facebook.com/bluefiretheatre
https://www.tiktok.com/@bluefiretheatre
https://www.bsky.app/@bluefiretheatre.bsky.social
https://www.youtube.com/@bluefiretheatrecompany3735/videos

Louise Weber might have invented the Can Can.   She was a huge star in Paris where she danced at the Moulin Rouge (in fact she was the poster girl for the place), inspired Toulouse -Lautrec and beguiled the Prince of Wales.

Known by her stage name of La Goulue (the glutton) long after her dancing career ended she had an incredible appetite for life, even when living in poverty at the end of her life.

Will Visconti and Stella Kulagowski talk about Louise's life and lasting effects.  

Will's book "Beyond the Moulin Rouge - the Life & Legacy of La Goulue" is available from your local independent bookshop.

Stella's show, Louise: The Last Dance previews on Fridays 5th and 19th June in Toronto and plays 7-29 August at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

About Will:  https://sydney.academia.edu/WillVisconti

About Stella:  https://saintstella.com/

Follow Will on X:  https://x.com/WillVisconti

Follow Stella on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/saintstella/

Guests:  Will Visconti & Stella Kulagowski

Host:  Lottie Walker

Editor:  Gordon Vowles

Music courtesy of  Pond 5.

Support the show

Thank you for listening.   If you've enjoyed today's podcast  do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode and you can catch up on past episodes.

If you'd like to help us keep the studio lights on please click the "support the podcast" link above. 

Details of all our upcoming shows and how to access our albums etc are here:
https://linktr.ee/BlueFireTheatreCo

And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you!
Find us at:

https://www.instagram.com/bluefire_tc
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https://www.youtube.com/@bluefiretheatrecompany3735/videos

Therese Lessore  (1884-1945) was an artist and founder member of the London Group.  She was also the third wife of Walter Sickert.

In this episode Dr Jason Price talks about Lessore's life and work and we discover just what a trail blazer she was.  

Jason's book 

Popular Performance in Modern British Art, 1880 to 1940

is an excellent read and is available from your local independent bookshop.

About Jason:  https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p252698-jason-price

Guest:  Dr Jason Price

Host:  Lottie Walker

Editing & Production:  Gordon Vowles

Support the show

Thank you for listening.   If you've enjoyed today's podcast  do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode and you can catch up on past episodes.

If you'd like to help us keep the studio lights on please click the "support the podcast" link above. 

Details of all our upcoming shows and how to access our albums etc are here:
https://linktr.ee/BlueFireTheatreCo

And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you!
Find us at:

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https://www.youtube.com/@bluefiretheatrecompany3735/videos

Charlotte Payne-Townshend did not like to be in the limelight but she deserves to be remembered as someone other than the wife of George Bernard Shaw.  After all, without Charlotte Shaw would not have had the financial security that enabled him to wrote so prolifically.

Born into a wealthy Irish family Charlotte was a philanthropist and political activist, joining the Fabian Society and financing a scholarship for female scholars at the London School of Economics, where a library is named after her.

Actress Alexis Leighton and musician Helen Tierney talk to us today about what they think made Charlotte tick.  Their play with music "Mrs Shaw Herself" has been touring the UK and may be coming to a venue near you ...

To find out more about the play (and Alexis and Helen's other collaborations)  check out their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/MRSSHAWHERSELF

Mrs Shaw Herself

Guests:  Alexis Leighton & Helen Tierney

Host:  Lottie Walker

Music:  Helen Tierney

Voice of George Bernard Shaw:  Sam Hanna

Voice of Charlotte Payne Townshend:  Alexis Leighton

Support the show

Thank you for listening.   If you've enjoyed today's podcast  do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode and you can catch up on past episodes.

If you'd like to help us keep the studio lights on please click the "support the podcast" link above. 

Details of all our upcoming shows and how to access our albums etc are here:
https://linktr.ee/BlueFireTheatreCo

And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you!
Find us at:

https://www.instagram.com/bluefire_tc
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Mary Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft were mother and daughter.  They never met, but were both brilliant writers, feminists and free thinkers. They both had exciting lives and they each crafted a book that has inspired generations.  

So what might have ensued had these two formidable women actually come face to face?  This three part audio drama hopes to answer that very question!

Mother of Monsters
Written by J.J. Leppink
Directed by Lil Warren

Featuring:
Sarah J. Warren as Mary Shelley
J.J. Leppink as Mary Wollstonecraft
other roles played by Sam Hanna

Studio production & editing:
Harry Jacobs

Find out more:

https://www.lilwarren.com/
https://unityartslondon.wordpress.com/

Support the show

Thank you for listening.   If you've enjoyed today's podcast  do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode and you can catch up on past episodes.

If you'd like to help us keep the studio lights on please click the "support the podcast" link above. 

Details of all our upcoming shows and how to access our albums etc are here:
https://linktr.ee/BlueFireTheatreCo

And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you!
Find us at:

https://www.instagram.com/bluefire_tc
https://www.facebook.com/bluefiretheatre
https://www.tiktok.com/@bluefiretheatre
https://www.bsky.app/@bluefiretheatre.bsky.social
https://www.youtube.com/@bluefiretheatrecompany3735/videos

Mary Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft were mother and daughter.  They never met, but were both brilliant writers, feminists and free thinkers. They both had exciting lives and they each crafted a book that has inspired generations.  

So what might have ensued had these two formidable women actually come face to face?  This three part audio drama hopes to answer that very question!

Mother of Monsters
Written by J.J. Leppink
Directed by Lil Warren

Featuring:
Sarah J. Warren as Mary Shelley
J.J. Leppink as Mary Wollstonecraft
other roles played by Sam Hanna

Studio production & editing:
Harry Jacobs

Find out more:

https://www.lilwarren.com/
https://unityartslondon.wordpress.com/

Support the show

Thank you for listening.   If you've enjoyed today's podcast  do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode and you can catch up on past episodes.

If you'd like to help us keep the studio lights on please click the "support the podcast" link above. 

Details of all our upcoming shows and how to access our albums etc are here:
https://linktr.ee/BlueFireTheatreCo

And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you!
Find us at:

https://www.instagram.com/bluefire_tc
https://www.facebook.com/bluefiretheatre
https://www.tiktok.com/@bluefiretheatre
https://www.bsky.app/@bluefiretheatre.bsky.social
https://www.youtube.com/@bluefiretheatrecompany3735/videos