Book: Kate Prince & Priya Parmar
Music: Josh Cohen & DJ Walde
Lyrics/Director/Choreographer: Kate Prince
The Pankhursts, a dynasty that changed the course of British history, went from close-knit to dysfunctional family in short order. Matriarch Emmeline and her oldest daughter Christabel are probably best-known today, but younger daughter Sylvia gets her own showcase in this high energy, hip-hop musical by Kate Prince (book, director and choreographer), Josh Cohen and DJ Walde (music). Evolving from an Old Vic production in 2018, and influenced inevitably by Hamilton, albeit with a Mancunian accent, it follows Sylvia’s early life as her mother’s campaign for women’s suffrage builds. Sylvia soon becomes one of the movement’s leaders and finds herself deeply involved in ever more dramatic demonstrations, and consequent imprisonment; the details of how the suffragettes were force-fed while on hunger-strike are harrowing. Increasing use of violence in Emmeline’s campaign, and Sylvia’s pull towards socialism, pacificism and improving the lives of the poor, lead to a family rift that is never reconciled.
A sparse set is brought to life by pulsing lights and projections (lighting designed by Natasha Chivers and Hector Murray) but the overall theme is starkly monochrome with flashes of red to represent socialist affiliations; this ensures that voices and movement are the main focus throughout. Quality is high across the board, with several Hamilton alumni appearing in the cast, and the marvellous Beverley Knight is in fine form as Emmeline. She marshals her family and associates with a combination of military precision and missionary zeal, and it is hard to believe that even the most prejudiced patriarchy blocked this irresistible force for so long. The main high-profile obstacle, Winston Churchill (Castell Parker), is played as a buffoon, and sometimes the comedy turns felt a little too much of a swerve from the grim reality of the struggle faced by these women. Keir Hardie, on the other hand, is played by Tachia Newall as rather a dashing figure, and Sylvia falls headlong for the man as well as his politics.
As Sylvia, Naomi Katiyo conveys passion and idealism with a warmth that emphasises further the contrast with her autocratic mother. Their duet You’ve Changed is a charged emotional turning point that gives full rein to her range and flexibility. When she strikes out into her own campaign in the East End of London, the colour palette suddenly glows with reds and golds, and the ensemble sings of a Golden Age of equality and progress. Sylvia ends its central story with all women over 21 being given the vote in 1928 rather than venturing much further into Sylvia’s chequered later life. Some numbers feel overly drawn out, and events then speed up at the very end, but this show is at its rousing best when the whole ensemble is belting out a call to action, and everything seems possible.
Runs until 17 October 2026 | Image: Tristram Kenton
