TAVISTOCK College’s theatre company Malarkite Collective presented its first production I’d Rather Be a Rebel on International Women’s Day.

Made up of eight female sixth form students, the theatre company has clear aims to inspire people to join in with the performing arts, produce high level ross arts work and both educate and entertain people.

I’d Rather Be a Rebel shared the stories of influential women in Devon, focusing on their connections with the Westcountry and exploring how the roles of women have changed and are changing in society.

A spokesperson for the college said: ‘The women chosen were Edith Splatt, Emily Pankhurst, Sylvia Calmady Hamlyn, Madame Paulo, Belinda Lee, Elizabeth Just, Joss Stone and Heather Fell — all influential and inspiring in their own way. Splatt fought for the right to have a workers’ tram ticket to her job, Pankhurst fought for women’s right to vote, Calmady Hamlyn was the creator of the Devon Women’s Land Army, Madame Paulo was the only woman to own a circus in Great Britain, Belinda Lee stood up to sexualisation of women in the film industry, Elizabeth Just was a fictional character who fought for the right to choose, Joss Stone battled with her record label for her artistic and aesthetic freedom and Heather Fell is an Olympic silver medallist from Devon.

‘Each of these women were seen to have some connection to the role of women today. The narrative followed the story of Heather Fell’s determined struggle to become an Olympian and the closing speech echoed the meaning behind the whole piece by saying “This is for the women who went before me, who paved the way for women of today, for the people, men and women, who stand beside me as we seek an equal playing field and those who will go ahead of us to continue to remove barriers to opportunity and equality”.’

The group researched the women thoroughly, basing monologues on real speeches they made and using this verbatim approach to appreciate their physicality, personality and character.

They also looked at the works of influential female playwrights Caryl Churchill, Charlotte Keatley and Laura Wade to develop their playwriting style.

The movement work was inspired mainly through the popular dances of the eras but also physical theatre to embody the journey of the characters.

The group composed songs and created soundscapes as well as revisiting songs of the past to contextualise the work.

I’d Rather Be a Rebel successfully played to audiences totalling 135 people over the course of the day.