THE ENSEMBLE WOMEN’S THEATRE
Women telling women’s stories. Women shaping the conversation.
A professional women’s theatre ensemble by Access to Play.
WE ARE A THEATRE COMPANY
The Ensemble Women’s Theatre brings women together to explore theatre, performance, storytelling and the experiences that shape women’s lives.
We rehearse. We train. We create. We perform.
We believe theatre can entertain people while also making people think, question, laugh, connect and see something differently.
WHY WOMEN’S THEATRE?
Women are often spoken about — in campaigns, reports, statistics and programmes.
But sometimes what is missing is a space where women can tell their own stories, in their own ways.
The Ensemble Women’s Theatre creates that space.
We explore the ordinary and the extraordinary: motherhood, friendship, relationships, work, love, identity, expectations, difficult experiences, joy, ambition and everything in between.
We believe all of these stories can become theatre.
OUR APPROACH
We use theatre, play and storytelling to explore the experiences, questions and ideas that shape women’s lives.
APPLIED DRAMA
Explore real-life experiences and issues through drama, participation and creative reflection.
APPLIED IMPROVISATION
Use play and improvisation to build confidence, creativity, connection and new possibilities.
PLAYBACK THEATRE
Turn real stories and lived experiences into spontaneous theatre that brings people together.
THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Use theatre to explore power, inequality, participation and the possibilities for change.
STORYTELLING
Use personal stories, imagination and performance to connect experiences and bring ideas to life.
PHYSICAL THEATRE
Explore movement, gesture and the body as powerful tools for expression and performance.
WHO IS IT FOR?
You don't have to be a professional actor.
The Ensemble Women’s Theatre is for women who are interested in:
THEATRE
PERFORMANCE
CREATIVITY
STORYTELLING
WOMEN'S ISSUES
SOCIAL JUSTICE
You might already have years of theatre experience. Or you might have always wanted to act but never had the opportunity. You might be a performer, teacher, entrepreneur, professional, student, mother, creative — or simply someone who loves stories and wants to explore theatre.
You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room. You don’t have to be an extrovert. And you don’t have to come knowing everything.
You come ready to learn, create and play.
WHAT WE OFFER
From intimate workshops to full-scale performances, we create spaces where women can explore, experiment and connect.
WORKSHOPS & RESIDENCIES
We offer participatory workshops and creative residencies that use theatre, play and storytelling to explore themes such as identity, confidence, relationships, wellbeing and social change.
PERFORMANCE
We create and perform original theatre that brings women’s stories, experiences and perspectives to the stage.
TRAINING
We offer training in applied theatre, improvisation, storytelling and performance skills for women at different stages of their creative journey.
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
We collaborate with women’s groups, organisations and communities to create theatre that responds to real needs and experiences.
THIS IS AN ENSEMBLE, NOT JUST AN ACTING CLASS
When you join The Ensemble Women’s Theatre, you are not simply signing up for acting lessons.
You are joining a company.
YOU REHEARSE WITH US
YOU TRAIN WITH US
YOU CREATE WITH US
YOU PERFORM WITH US
YOU LEARN FROM OTHER WOMEN
AND YOU CONTRIBUTE YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE AND CREATIVITY
Being part of The Ensemble Women’s Theatre is about more than learning how to act.
It is about building relationships, developing confidence, finding your voice and creating work that has meaning.
It is about becoming part of something bigger than yourself.
MEMBERSHIP
₦150,000
Membership is paid annually and gives you a place within the Ensemble for the year.
Membership is not a payment for a guaranteed place on stage or guaranteed paid work.
It is your commitment to being part of the Ensemble and an investment in your development as a theatre-maker and in the continued growth of the company.
Your membership supports the continued development of the company, including rehearsal spaces, artistic direction, ensemble development, production planning, administration and other operational needs.
MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES
- Weekly skill-building practice sessions
- Ensemble development
- Regular theatre practice
- Creative and performance development
- Artistic direction
- Production preparation
- Selected internal training activities
- Opportunities to participate in Ensemble performances and productions
- Opportunities to be considered for commissioned and community engagements
- A creative community of women
SPECIAL COURSES & MASTERCLASSES
Keep learning. Keep growing.
Being part of an ensemble does not mean we stop learning.
Throughout the year, The Ensemble Women’s Theatre offers special short courses, workshops and masterclasses led by Access to Play facilitators and invited practitioners.
APPLIED IMPROVISATION
CREATIVE PLAY & ENSEMBLE PRACTICE
PLAYBACK THEATRE
STORYTELLING & NARRATIVE THERAPY
THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
FORUM THEATRE
THEATRE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
THEATRE & ADVOCACY
VOICE, MOVEMENT & PHYSICAL EXPRESSION
PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT
FACILITATION THROUGH THEATRE
WOMEN’S THEATRE & SOCIAL CHANGE
These programmes are separate from the annual membership and are paid for independently.
Members may receive preferential rates on selected Access to Play courses and workshops.
PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES
From practice to
PERFORMANCE
We want the Ensemble to be a place where women can develop their craft and gain meaningful performance experience.
Members may have opportunities to participate in:
- Theatre productions
- Storytelling performances
- Organisational engagements
- Interactive theatre
- Creative campaigns
- Commissioned performances
- Communications training
- Creative development opportunities
Where paid performance or professional opportunities arise, participating members may be contracted and remunerated separately according to the nature of the engagement, the role required and the available budget.
Membership does not automatically guarantee paid performance work.
Our goal is to create a pathway where women can develop their skills, build experience and, where opportunities arise, participate in professional theatre work.
OUR WORK
Theatre that starts conversations.
The Ensemble Women’s Theatre develops original performances and recurring theatre formats exploring women’s lives and experiences.
GENDERPROV
Improvisational theatre exploring gender stereotypes, expectations and harmful practices.
GenderProv takes situations audiences recognise from everyday life and turns them into spontaneous theatre.
A comment from a parent.
A conversation between partners.
An expectation placed on a woman.
A stereotype we have all heard before.
Rather than giving audiences a lecture about gender, GenderProv allows them to see these dynamics played out on stage — and question them.
MOTHERHOOD MATTERS
Real stories of motherhood transformed into live Playback Theatre.
Audience members share real experiences from their lives.
The performers listen.
Then they play the story back.
A memory.
A difficult moment.
A funny experience.
A moment of joy.
A story about motherhood that has never been told aloud.
The performers transform the story into theatre while the person who shared it watches their experience come alive.
The story belongs to the woman who told it.
The theatre gives it another way to be heard.
WOMEN’S THEATRE FESTIVAL
Celebrating women’s stories, creativity and theatre.
The Women’s Theatre Festival is a theatre and arts platform focused on women’s issues, created in 2018.
The festival brings together theatre, performance, storytelling and other creative forms to explore issues affecting women and girls while celebrating women’s creativity and voices.
It is both a celebration and a space for conversation.
BEYOND OUR OWN PRODUCTIONS
Beyond the stage. Into the community.
The Ensemble Women’s Theatre also participates in commissioned performances, festivals, creative collaborations and community-based theatre activities.
Depending on the project, members may work across:
- Performance
- Improvisation
- Storytelling
- Interactive Theatre
- Community Theatre
- Theatre-for-Advocacy
- Workshops
- Creative Campaigns
These engagements allow members to experience different forms of professional theatre practice while contributing their creative skills to meaningful work.
WHAT WE ASK OF MEMBERS
An ensemble works when everyone shows up.
- Attend skill-building practice sessions as consistently as possible
- Participate actively in the creative process
- Be available for performances and productions they commit to
- Take part in training and development activities
- Work respectfully and collaboratively
- Be open to feedback and continuous learning
- Contribute to the life and development of the Ensemble
- Have a genuine interest in theatre and women’s social development
You don’t have to know everything.
You just have to be willing to learn.
THE ENSEMBLE FAMILY
Part of something bigger.
The Ensemble Women’s Theatre is part of the wider Access to Play theatre community.
Access to Play is building a family of specialist theatre ensembles, each with its own creative identity and focus.
The Ensemble Improv and Playback Theatre
The Ensemble Youth Theatre
The Ensemble Theatre for Older People
The Ensemble Women’s Theatre
Each ensemble has its own character, while sharing a common belief:
People learn differently when they are involved.
Through the wider Ensemble family, artists and participants can encounter different forms of theatre, work with different people and discover new creative possibilities.
The Women’s Theatre has its own identity.
But it is part of something bigger.
WHAT WE ARE BUILDING
A place women can return to.
A place to keep learning.
A place to keep performing.
A place to meet other women.
A place to try something new.
A place where a woman who has never acted before can stand beside someone with years of theatre experience — and both can find something to contribute.
We want to build a strong women-led theatre company with:
A committed ensemble.
A growing body of original work.
More performance opportunities.
Stronger theatre-makers.
A wider audience.
And most importantly, we want to make good theatre.
The kind people enjoy watching.
The kind that stays with them afterwards.
The kind that sometimes makes people laugh when they expected to cry — or think when they came simply to be entertained.