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Open Clasp’s new production highlights the gap in support for women when they are at their most vulnerable
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North East theatre company Open Clasp are known for their hard-hitting and honest portrayals of women and girls let down by society. Lasagna, which opens at Live Theatre in Newcastle on International Women’s Day and tours the region throughout March, is based on the true life experiences of women who have lost children to the care system.
Co-created by Open Clasp and the Pause North East charity, which works with women who have had multiple children taken into care, the production is the result of a series of workshops and conversations with local women, aiming to highlight the gap in support for women when they are at their most vulnerable.
The production further demonstrates Open Clasp’s belief that theatre can be a force for social change, as co-founder Catrina McHugh explains. “It became clear to me that there was a bigger story to tell, of a system that is broken, and a need for real systematic change. Lasagna is about community and what is needed in order to not only survive but to thrive and grow. To reimagine and invest in a society that supports all of us to live the best lives we can.”
Initially streamed online, and now ready for a wide-ranging tour which takes in both traditional theatres, youth and community spaces as well as prisons, Lasagna hopes to provide valuable insight and much needed humanity on such an emotive subject.
