Take the Space Theatre Brings STELLA to The Marlowe Theatre, Now thru 10/11

Take the Space in association with Greenwich Theatre London present STELLA, a play about women, their men and astronomy written by Siobhán Nicholas. The production will run tonight, 10th October and Friday 11th October at 8pm at the The Marlowe Studio, The Friars, Canterbury CT1 2AS. Book on marlowetheatre.com or call 01227 787787.

STELLA , a new play about time, space, curiosity and passion, premiered at the Brighton Fringe Festival in May and is now on a UK tour which includes The Rose Theatre Kingston, Alan Ayckbourn's Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, Oxford Playhouse Studio, Greenwich Theatre, Dublin Festival of Curiosity, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, The Marlowe Studio Canterbury and Eastbourne's Devonshire Park Theatre. The company was delighted as well to perform in Ireland at Dublin's Festival of Curiosity.

In ancient civilisations, temple priestesses meticulously mapped the heavens, seeking to understand their gods. And so Astronomy was born.

This is a story of Time and Space. Two women astronomers, Jessica Bell from the C21st and Caroline Herschel from the C18th look up at the same night sky and find themselves colliding in their search for understanding. Caroline longs for a family and home of her own; Jess contemplates the prospect of losing both. Each woman can precisely map her position in the universe yet she struggles to find her place in the world.

This will be the fourth production from Take the Space with STELLA'S premiere following a series of well received public play readings: "The audience choked on the bared emotions and the wonderment of people seeing deep space for the first time" (The Guardian's John Vidal on a reading of Stella at Paines Plough).

Stella focuses on the real-life story of Caroline Herschel (1750 to 1848) who discovered eight comets and eleven nebulae and received the Royal Astronomical Society's Gold Medal; a genius who with her brother, William, could be said to have laid the foundations of modern astronomy. But Caroline also passionately longed for a family and home of her own. The play, through Jess, our modern character, positions this {possibly everlasting} dilemma up against Humanity's consuming need to explore the enormity of the Universe and thereby understand the origin of Life itself.

Playwright Siobhán Nicholas says "I became interested in astronomy when I stumbled across a quote from an astrophysicist called Jocelyn Bell Burnell: "We are all made of star stuff". Those beautiful simple words inspired me to find out more. Jocelyn discovered the Pulsar Star, an achievement that should have earned her the Nobel Prize. An amazing woman! Following this slight, instead of wallowing in bitterness, she has spent her life nurturing young astrophysicists and encouraging women into science.

I began thinking about the modern female astronomer with so much technology at her fingertips, witnessing the wonders of the universe expanding before her eyes - and all the while sustaining a very earth-based juggling act of loved ones and work. Is she in a better position now than her past counterparts? Do brilliant female minds have to renounce "love" in order to discover the wonders of the universe? Even Marie Curie, perhaps the most famous female scientist from the past, said "I have frequently been questioned, especially by women, of how I could reconcile family life with a scientific career. Well, it has not been easy."

Cast: Chris Barnes, Kathryn Pogson and Siobhán Nicholas. Chris, currently appearing in Les Miserables the film, can be seen in two new television series: Endeavour and The Musketeers. Kathy's credits includes stand-out roles in Brazil and Company of Wolves, as well as numerous television appearances including Foyles War and Last of the Blonde Bombshells. Siobhán's credits include the films Little Dorrit and Neverland whilst on telly she has featured in Shadow of the Noose and Prime Cracker

Stella, a story of women, their men and astronomy comes to The Marlowe Studio, Canterbury, Thurs 10th and Fri 11th Oct 2013 at 8pm. Tickets: 01227 787787 or online at marlowetheatre.com.

Take the Space was founded in Brighton eight years ago and has already toured three productions {Sam & I, Hanging Hooke and Dolce Via} across the UK and Ireland. After opening in Brighton, STELLA toured to The Rose in Kingston on Tues 4th June, Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough and The Dublin Festival of Curiosity. Our Autumn Tour includes Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh and Eastbourne's Devonshire Park Theatre. www.takethespace.co.uk

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