Sherman Theatre’s next show Balloon Girl (9-24 October) – in co-production with Tilt – is inspired by the true Cardiff story of 14-year-old Louisa Maud Evans, who lost her life in a hot air balloon stunt in July 1896.
The balloon took off from Cathays Park on 21 July; a much-hyped spectacle in which the intrepid girl was due to demonstrate the very latest in parachute technology in front of a crowd of 100,000 as part of Cardiff’s Fine Art, Industrial and Maritime Exhibition.
Louisa’s body was pulled from the mud at Nash Point, Newport, three days later, and following a crowdfunded funeral she was laid to rest in Cathays Cemetery; a stone’s throw from Sherman Theatre. The story, reported by local journalists and which horrified the world, became the catalyst for radical changes in UK child labour laws.
McPake’s wild, fantastical new play Balloon Girl celebrates the legacy and bravery of a rebellious girl who became a folk hero, and the city that pooled its resources to honour her. Spanning 2,000 years of Welsh history, from Roman invaders and Viking raiders to Victorian Cardiffians and beyond, it will also shed light on man’s capacity for performing extraordinary feats, often at the expense of ordinary people.
The cast includes Elan Davies (Imrie (Sherman Theatre and Frân Wen), Plays From Ur Notes App (Royal Court)), Elin Phillips (Hansel and/a Gretel, Alice in Wonderland), François Pandolfo (Odyssey ‘84, The Taming of the Shrew), Keiron Self (Alice: Return to Wonderland, Peter Pan), Oliver Wood (Alice: Return to Wonderland, A Christmas Carol), Mari Fflur (Alice: Return to Wonderland, Hansel and/a Gretel), Rebecca Wilson (Imrie, A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Seren Vickers (The Turn of the Screw (Torch Theatre), The Great Gatsby (Theatr Clwyd)).
This riotous, spectacular, large-scale Made at Sherman co-production with Tilt is aimed at all audiences aged 8+, and will be performed in Sherman’s Main House.
Hannah McPake said: ”The political shifts in the 1890s – from women’s suffrage to LGBTQ+ awareness, from workers’ rights to children’s labour laws – were seismic. And as history has shown time and again, those shifts were borne from the casualties of some of our greatest industrial, technological, and scientific achievements. I hope that Balloon Girl will show audiences young and old how history repeats itself and how alongside our limitless capacity for learning and discovery, we must ensure we take everyone with us.”
Julia Barry, Chief Executive at Sherman Theatre, said: “Louisa’s story – which started so boldly and ended so sadly less than a mile from here – is exactly the sort of local story with a global resonance that we love to bring to life on our stages. And Hannah McPake, with her extraordinary success as an actor, writer and director here at the Sherman, has written a play that does justice to Louisa but also salutes this city and its people. This is a spectacle not to be missed.”
Alongside the production, and thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Sherman Theatre and Tilt will create and deliver a cross-curriculum education project for several local primary schools. Pupils will work with partner organisations Glamorgan Archives and People’s Collection Wales to access archive materials and rediscover and retell the extraordinary story that happened on their doorstep. Later, they’ll watch the show, before taking part in a second workshop in which they’ll create a digital exhibition presenting their visions of Cardiff in the future.
Andrew White, Director for Wales, The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “Balloon Girl brings to life an extraordinary Cardiff story with creativity and care. Thanks to National Lottery players, this project will help new audiences connect with the city’s past in a bold and imaginative way.”
