About The Packhorse Project

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​The project is the very beginning of what we envisage to be a longer project. It is being creatively produced by Elise Rohde and Clair Parker in collaboration with Alexander Kyle (Choir master at Bradford Singers) Brick Wall Ensemble (University of Huddersfield) and Sameena Hussain.
We were asked by the Packhorse Centre to deliver a day of performance to entice more people in the centre. We wanted to link it to prominent people from Huddersfield and discovered that two women, Dora Thewlis and Edith Key were important in the Suffrage movement. Their lives intertwined and were so fascinating that we wanted to start our project here.
On Saturday 13th April we worked with a small group of singers to very quickly learn and rehearse 4 songs from the Suffragettes, with familiar tunes, which were taught to the singers by Alex. The singers were the first point of interest - they were placed in areas of the Packhorse Centre to start singing and lead the audiences towards Unit 14 in the Centre, where there was and still is a small exhibition in place.

The Physical Theatre Ensemble then showed us a short piece to the soundtrack of a violinist, played live in the Centre.

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Our next project will tell the story of Frederic Key and his two sons. We are hoping to work with a male choir to bring this story to life, which involves Choral societies, speeches in St. George's Square, running from the law and tragic childhood incidences. Keep checking back to find out more about this next stage of our Mice in the Attic Project.
 

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Dora Thewlis and Edith Key were prominent women in the history of Huddersfield. The Mice in the Attic Project uses their stories to create a series of mini events and happenings in the centre of Huddersfield.



To find out more about these women click here:





  Dora Thewlis                                  Edith Key