Audience Endorsements
‘Such a moving piece of theatre. The performances were excellent’
Sabina Higgins, Patron of Smashing Times and Audience Member
The work Smashing Times are doing is so important. We need to hear more of these stories’
Laura Brady, Audience Member
‘I’m amazed I never heard those stories before. It was so interesting, thank you for a wonderful performance’
Elaine Cronin, Audience Member
‘Brilliant, moving, eye opening journey into stories of women’s bravery’’
Sarah Glennane, Audience Member
Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality are delighted to present The Woman is Present: Women’s Stories of World War II by award winning writers Mary Moynihan, Paul Kennedy and Fiona Bawn Thompson, at the Cyprus Theatre Festival, Nicosia, Cyprus. The Woman is Present: Women’s Stories of World War II is a creative re-imagining of moments from the lives of women during World War II recalling stories of bravery, sacrifice and love amidst the horror of war, as women stood up against fascism and totalitarianism and refused to accept oppression. The performance takes place on Saturday 12 April 2025 at THOC APOTHIKES Theatre at 3pm, as part of the Theatre in Palm project, funded by Creative Europe.
The show is based on reimagined moments from the lives of women during World War II who stood up against oppression and fought for the dignity and rights of others, remembering the often-forgotten role played by ordinary yet extraordinary women from Europe in times of war and peace. The show is an interdisciplinary production featuring three plays and one film. The performance is followed by a post-show discussion with performer, Fiona Bawn-Thompson, and the producer, Freda Manweiler.
The performance on tour to Cyprus consists of:
Neus by Mary Moynihan. Performed by Fiona Bawn Thompson, directed by Bairbre Ni Chaoimh
Neus Català Pallejà from Spain, was a member of the United Socialist Party of Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War, an active collaborator with the French Resistance during World War II and the only living Spanish survivor of Ravensbrück, one of the largest concentration camps set up by the Nazis especially for women.
Maria Eugenia Jasińska by Mary Moynihan, Paul Kennedy and Fiona Bawn Thompson. Performed by Fiona Bawn Thompson, directed by Bairbre Ni Chaoimh.
Maria Eugenia Jasińska (1906-43) was from Łódź in Poland. Maria worked for the resistance during World War II and gave up her own life rather than ‘name names’.
Marta Hillers by Mary Moynihan, Paul Kennedy and Fiona Bawn Thompson. Performed by Fiona Bawn Thompson, directed by Bairbre Ni Chaoimh
Marta Hillers from Germany wrote her autobiography Eine Frau in Berlin (A Woman in Berlin) under the name ‘Anonyma’ (Anonymous), detailing her experiences of the last days of World War I as she and over one million other women were raped and abused by Allied soldiers of the Red Army.
Film Screening: Dolores Ibárruri, La Pasionaria, Spain by Mary Moynihan, Paul Kennedy and Fiona Bawn Thompson.
Performed by Margaret Toomey as Dolores, Ella Brady as child and Fiona Bawn Thompson and Romana Testacecca as women, directed by Mary Moynihan.
Dolores Ibárruri, or La Pasionaria (1895-1989), from Spain, was a revolutionary leader, political activist and Communist. Dolores was a crusader against Fascism during the Spanish Civil War and created the famous cry ‘They Shall Not Pass’. In this film, screened on stage, Dolores recalls her struggle for freedom and the achievement of women’s rights.
Mary Moynihan, writer, poet and Artistic Director of Smashing Times says ‘we are delighted to be touring The Woman is Present: Women’s Stories of World War II to the Cyprus Theatre Festival. The show on tour features the stories of four extraordinary women from Europe – Marta Hillers from Germany, Maria Eugenia Jasińska from Poland and Neus Català Pallejà and Dolores Ibárruri, La Pasionaria, both from Spain. These are powerful women who stood up for equality and human rights and it is an honour to share their stories with our audiences across Europe’.
Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality are one of twelve partner organisations from the Creative Europe Project Theatre in Palm presenting a live show on tour to public audiences as part of the annual Cyprus theatre festival in Nicosia, Cyprus from 11 to 13 April 2025.
For further information please visit the Smashing Times website or contact the Smashing Times office:
Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality
Coleraine House, Coleraine Street, Dublin 7
Tel: + 353 (0) 1 865 6613 Tel: + 353 (0) 87 221 4245
Email: admin@smashingtimes.ie or freda@smashingtimes.ie
Web: www.smashingtimes.ie
Smashing Times in Europe: Theatre in Palm
Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality are one of twelve partner organisations involved in Theatre in Palm, a large-scale European platform project funded by the Creative Europe programme 2021-2025. The Theatre in Palm platform brings together twelve partners from across Europe to collaborate and co-create as part of an international, intercultural platform supporting artists including emerging artists, to engage in international networking and to build theatre-based skills in transnational cooperation and co-creation. Theatre in Palm is supported by Creative Europe, under the sub-heading European Platforms for the promotion of emerging artists, and aims to increase the visibility of emerging European artists and to share their work in Europe and beyond. It also increases access to and participation in cultural events and activities, as well as audience engagement and development.
The partners are Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finland (lead partner); Intercult Productions, Sweden; Fondazione E35 per la progettazione Internazionale, Italy; Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality, Ireland; JAIT International Theatre, Portugal; Stichting ZID, the Netherlands; Anazitti Es Theatrou, Cyprus; European Theatre and Film Institute, Belgium; the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (THOC), Greece; Homemade Culture, Romania; and the Oecon group, Bulgaria.