Billingshurst Dramatic Society's new play celebrates women's suffrage and 100 years of the Women's Hall in Billingshurst

Trevor Bishop, Lucy Cooper and Denise Robinson in rehearsal for "Beck and Calling"

Local English Literature teacher and writer Ted Gooda has penned a brand new play which explores the story of women who ‘vanished for the vote’ on the night of the 1911 census. It centres around Billingshurst's very own suffragist sisters, Ellen and Edith Beck, who are perhaps better known to Billingshurst villagers for bequeathing the Women’s Hall and the Mother’s Garden.

The production of Beck And Calling takes place on April 13, 14 and 15 2023 at 7.45pm in the Women’s Hall itself, with an additional Saturday matinée performance at 2.30pm. The production forms part of the centenary celebrations for the Women's Hall.

“As someone who has used the Women’s Hall for drama rehearsals for more than thirty years, I’ve long been fascinated by the portraits of the two Beck sisters which hang there, and wanted to write something to commemorate their unique history in the village,” says Gooda.

The play explores a lesser-known but dramatic story of one night in the larger movement towards women's suffrage, when a number of women were united in their determination to boycott the census because, ‘if we don’t count then we won’t be counted’.

The drama explores what might have happened in the Beck household on census night, at a time when great courage would have been needed; not just to break the law for a political belief, but to do so in such a close-knit community as Billingshurst, where the ripples and repercussions of such action would have had great consequence.

“I’ve always wondered if I would have been strong enough to be a suffragist or suffragette, particularly in the early years of campaigning before the ideologies had gained popular momentum,” explains Gooda.

The cast is made up of BDS favourites old and new, including Sue Pollard, Lucy Cooper, Trevor Bishop, Denise Robinson, Jane Brough, Julia Jepps, Kathryn Attwood, Sophie-Belle Carnell, Caroline Newell, Natalie van de Braam and Peter Burton, and will be directed by Ted and her husband, Will Gooda.

Denise Robinson, who plays the role of Miss Ellen Beck, says of the production: “It has been a real honour to play the part of Miss Beck, despite being younger than Sue Pollard who plays my younger sister, Edith Beck! Rehearsals have been so enjoyable with the Goodas at the helm. Despite the serious nature of the subject matter, there is still humour to be found in Beck & Calling and I know that our audiences will be informed, entertained and moved by this production.”

The historical setting will resonate for a contemporary audience in a political climate where sometimes the staunchest defenders of the status quo are those who are worst affected by it.

Alongside the one-act play, speeches, sketches and music from the era will be performed to make a full evening’s entertainment.

Tickets are available online at billingshurstdramaticsociety.com or directly from Mansell McTaggarts on Billingshurst High Street.