As a result of wanting women across Dorset to have greater access to the arts, Women of Dorset was founded by playwright Stephanie Dale  and Penny Levick.

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We held a series of workshops at five arts venues across the county. We worked with over 150 women. Discussions were focused on giving voice to remarkable women from the past and what makes a life note-worthy. These workshops were funded by The Maria Bjornson Memorial Trust Fund. 

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In 2025, we:

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• Worked with 14 volunteer researchers at Dorset History Centre to explore the lives of women from across time.

• Held a launch event at Dorchester Arts, where over 70 women came and discovered more about the project, listened to an inspiring a talk from Anya Pearson from Visible Women, learned new dances led by Angela Laycock and listened to acapella group Bread and Roses

• Ran workshops across the county, attended by over 100 women, at Poole Lighthouse, Dorchester Arts, Shaftesbury Arts, Weymouth College and Lyric Theatre, Bridport. The workshops were a chance for women to tell us about the incredible women in their lives, and towns, and to have their say about the content of the play. 

• Held Wine with Our Women - an evening introducing our unearthed women, with music from Belle Street Duo. 

• Held song writing workshops with Jenifer Toksfig and Tim Laycock.

 

       Phase One was funded by The Maria Bjornson Memorial Fund and produced by Rowan Seymour. 

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As of May 2026, we are entering our production phase. We are creating Unearthed, a fierce new stage play which will enable everyone across the county to know about the lives of some (extra)ordinary historical women.​​

 

We have held auditions for the central roles and two gatherings for women to join the community chorus.The play will be staged in July 2026, at Dorchester Arts and Lighthouse, Poole. 

 

The entire process, as part of a Phd exploring the connection between image and empowerment, is being documented by Jayne Jackson Photography.  

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