The escapades of Gert and her militant pals sing out for a musical

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As a farm girl from New Brunswick, Gert is not a raised to think about politics nor to be a leader, but her need to be independent will push her to become a high-ranking member in one of the most famous – and notorious -- groups of activists in the world. Her unshakeable belief that women are equal to men drives her to acts of great personal sacrifice and daring.

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Conflict? We have family disputes, forbidden love and fisticuffs between the women and Scotland Yard detectives. Intrigue? When the Suffragette newspaper is driven underground, Gert wears disguises, from char woman to prostitute, or smears charcoal on her face and runs through dark alleys at night to help print the paper in secret hideouts. Gert’s first act of militancy: a midnight attack on rare orchids at Kew Gardens. Two of the twelve newspapers that report on the ‘outrage at Kew’ claim that it must have been male sympathizers for the cause, as only a man could scale the six-foot wall to escape.

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​When Gert first runs into a group of militants, they sing out in overlapping lyrics of challenge and hope. During her first poster parade, Gert, marching at the end of the line and with good humour, opens her umbrella to ward off the rotten apples thrown by street urchins. The umbrella acts as a bull’s eye, and Gert is pummelled without mercy. She soon manages to scare off the boys and, with dignity and defiance, swings the momentum back to the women. Voices of freedom ring out to the city in gorgeous layers of harmony.

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There’s a saying in the biz about emotions: when you can’t just say it, sing it. When you can’t just sing it, dance! We giggle with women, most of whom have never raised a hand in self-defence, as they sing, trip and topple during jujitsu practice, much like newcomers at an aerobics class. We watch dangerous dance-fights play out between long-skirted ladies and Scotland Yard thugs armed with batons, with Gert’s physical prowess on full display. We laugh at the antics of police, looking like keystone cops as they are fooled by militants on the run, who escape with clever and hilarious ploys.

 

We hope to soon sit back and thrill to this tale, told through Trad-Celtic songs of family life on a Canadian farm; pop musical melodies of city life and first love; pop-Celtic duets of anger and accusation among Gert and family in London; rock-infused songs condemning her and the cause; and, throughout, soaring anthems of social and political change. A true story with drama, heroism, heart and humour.

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The Story is Timely

Not only is Gert Harding a woman with a political story to tell, but she loves women. In London, she falls in love, and falls hard, for the first time. Sunita Sharma, like quite a few members of the women’s suffrage movement, is of East Indian heritage. She is an engaging mix of things that Gert is not: eloquent, charming, sophisticated and well-educated. Gert is plain-spoken, gets tongue-tied, is impetuous and self-educated. For her part, Sunita is attracted to this unusual woman who is brave, resourceful, witty and authentic. “You have no wiles, Gert.”

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Members of the LGBTQ community will see two of their own changing the course of history over a hundred years ago and never apologizing for who they love.

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