Mad Women

A collaboration between St Peters Women’s Community Centre and No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability

Mad Women was a bold and thought-provoking theatrical collaboration between No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability and the St Peters Women’s Community Centre. Bringing together a diverse ensemble of women performers, the project explored the concept of “madness” — not as something to be silenced or hidden, but as a powerful expression of creativity, resilience, and social critique.

Women throughout history have been labelled “mad” for speaking out, for dreaming too loudly, or for daring to live differently. Mad Women sought to reclaim that label, asking:
What would Frida Kahlo have done if she could not paint? What would Virginia Woolf have done if she could not write?

Through vivid character explorations, evocative movement, and poetic dialogue, the performers inhabited a “parallel universe” — a space free from personal disclosures, where collective imagination became a tool for liberation. The work questioned how society defines sanity, and whether “madness” might sometimes be a healthy reaction to a world that itself has lost balance.

Under the direction of Lisa Hughes and PJ Rose, Mad Women celebrated the courage, humour, and creative spirit of women who dare to challenge conventions and tell their truth.