Written by Carolyn S. Jones
Emma Wilkes as Clara von Holst
Emmeline Braefield as Isabella Beeton
Directed by Gary Owston
The action takes place over the course of the year 1881 in the kitchen of Clara von Holst at 4 Pittville Terrace, Cheltenham.
Clara von Holst
Clara was the daughter of a prosperous Cirencester solicitor, Samuel Lediard, and her childhood was spent in the family homes in Cirencester, Cranham and Cheltenham. Clara possessed considerable musical talent; her singing was much admired, and she was a gifted player of the piano and harmonium.
The death of her father marked a change in the family fortunes and the Lediards moved to Cheltenham where she began music lessons with Adolph von Holst. Adolph was a leading figure on the Cheltenham music scene and seemed “wonderfully talented” to Clara. They married and took up residence at the Lediards’ house in 4 Pittville Terrace – now 4 Clarence Road. After a few months, Adolph took up his life again and Clara was left rather peremptorily to her own devices. The birth of her son, Gustav, in 1874 and his brother Emil two years later meant she was even more housebound and, like so many of her contemporaries, no doubt turned to Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management for help.
Adolph was frequently away from home teaching and performing; when he was in Cheltenham, he seemed to prefer local hostelries to domestic life. There must have been time, as Clara busied herself in the kitchen, when she remembered her idyllic times in the cottage at Cranham and the dreams she once had.......
Isabella Beeton
Isabella Beeton was a vivid presence in the Victorian period. Through her seminal work, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, she helped to shape the middleclass identity and provide the housewife with ideals to which she might aspire.
Growing up near Epsom, Isabella helped her mother with ‘a lively cargo of thirteen children’ before escaping to Heidelberg to complete her education. But it was her marriage to Samuel Beeton, an ambitious publisher and magazine editor, that was to provide her with the outlet for her many talents. Soon Isabella was writing for one of his publications, translating French fiction and writing up recipes often sent in by readers.
Luckily, in spite of Sam’s hopelessness with money and tendency to malinger in the tavern, he was a firm believer in the equality of women and Isabella became joint editor of everything they produced. The Book of Household Management, which took four years to compile, helped many Victorian women to escape the loneliness of marriage and match the approach expected of men. the iconic image of Isabella as a mob-capped matron extolling the virtues of the culinary arts became part of the popular imagination. But behind the image was a very different woman whose voice had been effectively stifled by her own success…
Note on behalf of the writer
Sally - as some of you know, can’t attend the performances due to ill health.
She really wants to send a huge thank you to all of you who came to support; to those who have looked after her over the last few months (particularly those who have come to watch the show!) and a big thank you to the brilliant cast and crew.
Sally and her family have received a huge amount of support from The Stroke Association. They would therefore be incredibly grateful, if you enjoyed the show, that you would consider making a donation to the charity:Donate to the Stroke Association
We hope you enjoy this special production of A Woman’s Life!
News
Carolyn, Emma and Emmeline, alongside Two Hats Films and Cat on a Piano Productions, are currently in post-production on a film version of A Woman’s Life. A longer look into the story of Clara and Bella, we were lucky enough to be able to film at the Holst Victorian Museum; where the events of the play would have taken place.
The various lockdowns have caused delays, but we are nearly there! Keep an eye on catonapiano.com for news on its release.
Biographies
The Writer: Carolyn S. Jones
Carolyn trained as an actress and worked as a drama lecturer and editorial assistant before writing her first radio play. It seemed like a breakthrough moment but in writing you have to keep proving yourself, and the euphoria was replaced by a suspicion she should have chosen a more sensible career! Despite some challenges, she became a full-time writer for TV, radio, and theatre.
Her writing covers many genres, including contemporary, historical, and political drama, and children’s television. She was a regular writer on the TV police series The Bill, scripting over twenty-five episodes. Her stage play, Sanctuary, was short-listed for the Bruntwood/Royal Exchange theatre award and her second play The Intern had a rehearsed reading at the Old Red Lion, Islington. Her screenplay Checkmate was a quarter-finalist in the 2014 Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest.
In children’s television, she wrote episodes for CBBC’s BAFTA-winning Pig Heart Boy and received BAFTA and Royal Television Society nominations for her own original Victorian mystery drama, Shadowplay. She was a core writer on The Archers from 2011 to 2014, and has written over twenty plays for Radio 4, including Chekhov in My Life with Janet Suzman, Don’t be a Stranger with Emilia Fox, Examination Day with Bill Nighy and an adaptation of Ronnie Know-Mawer’s Tales of a Man Called Father with Kenneth Cranham. She has been commissioned for Series 20 of BBC TV Doctors.
The Director: Gary Owston
Gary gained a B.A. (Hons). in Theatre Arts at The Rose Bruford College Of Speech And Drama, then worked as an actor in theatre, musical theatre and television. Subsequent training led to the Advanced Diploma in Voice Studies from The Central School Of Speech And Drama. Gary started qualified voice and dialect teaching in America and also worked as an actor in Dallas and Minneapolis; teaching in England has included most of the leading drama schools, theatre, radio and television.
Gary now teaches at the newly formed Bristol School of Acting as well as owning and directing his own drama school the Bristol Acting Academy. He has recently finished an MA in Film Music Composition.
The Actors
Emma Wilkes (Clara von Holst)
After growing up singing and dancing in Musical Theatre, Emma's journey into professional acting began in 2016, when she joined actress Susan Lynch's Theatre Group, RATS, and played Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream. She made her professional stage debut in 2019 in Cheltenham playing none other than Clara Von Holst in the original outing of A Woman's Life. In 2019-2020 she trained with tutors from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School on Gary Owston's BAA Showcase Course, where she played Hamlet's mama, Queen Gertrude. Earlier this year, Emma landed her first TV guest role in BBC Doctors, and most recently she played the full Edinburgh Fringe run, portraying 3 very different characters in Yellow Mug Theatre's brand new dark comedy, The Gay Train.
The pandemic saw Emma train in vocal variety and after setting up a home recording studio, she became a voiceover artist. She has recently narrated two Harper Collins audiobooks and has voiced various characters for such organisations as SS Great Britain, Hampton Court Palace and the National Trust Scotland.
Emma is thrilled to be bringing Clara back to life again in this exciting reworking of A Woman's Life, and has relished working with her former acting tutor and voice coach, Gary Owston, as well as long-time colleague and friend, Emmeline. Emma has missed working with Carolyn this time, but hopes to do her proud!
Emmeline Braefield (Mrs Beeton)
Emmeline studied Drama and French at Royal Holloway University, then continued her training at Birmingham Theatre School. Since then, she has appeared in a variety of theatre, films, TV and voice over productions.
One of her most recent short films, A Maid’s Life (Evenlode Productions), earned her a nomination for Best Actress (Oniros Awards). You can watch it via the Holst Victorian House website here.
Emmeline plays Helen in My Constant Shadow (Shooting Lodge Productions). A story about Multiple Sclerosis and overcoming adversity, the film will be coming to Amazon Prime very soon.
Emmeline is also a singer and advanced performance fighter. In 2020 Emmeline set up Theatrephonic, an audiodrama podcast, which releases new radio plays every fortnight (and managed to get Emma Wilkes involved too!) You can find episodes at theatrephonic.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
"I am so happy to be coming back to A Woman’s Life for the fourth(!) time. Working with Carolyn and Emma over these years has been absolutely wonderful, and Gary has been a fantastic addition to the team. He has really pushed us and our characters, meaning that we have found so much more in Bella and Clara’s stories. I really hope you enjoy it."
emmelinebraefield.co.ukOur grateful thanks to
- Holst Victorian House, for loan of props, costume and their continuing support
- Jayne Lloyd, Rain or Shine Theatre Company, for costumes
- Tom Black, Cat on a Piano Productions, for graphic design
- James Wilkes and Davide Branciamore, Wilxite, for the online programme
- Chris Jones for his ongoing support on behalf of Carolyn S. Jones
