I sat down with Ciara Cogley to find out more about Mother Tongue coming to The Space Theatre this November as part of Voila! Festival.

Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?

Mother Tongue is about the stories of women whose identity has been altered or taken due to events of violence. We have built the show around folklore and rituals, so audiences can expect a music-packed show with a vibrant mixture of cultures and languages, representing women from around the world.

What drew you to this specific story?

Women’s rights and safety is such a prevalent issue today, and being a woman myself, it is something I hold near to my heart and take very seriously. I always feel like these kinds of stories are often undercut by the impact of men, and not shining enough light on the women’s aftermath, and I think our show does that well.

What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?

This production, in many ways, is on a bigger scale. Big cast, big story, big music and so on. However, the time frame for this show has been the same as our other projects, so having such a large amount of work in a short space of time always proves a challenge, but there hasn’t been an obstacle that we haven’t overcome!

How does the design of your show (set, sound, or lighting) impact the presentation of your story?

The set design is very minimal, to enable the audience to fully focus on the actors on stage and their representation of Jane Doe, using their bodies and the space. The lighting design by Allie Yu Hu will be inspired by images of the moon, the creeping gloominess of a dark forest, campfires in the night and spectres hidden in the shadows, playing with a lot of shadows to highlight the ghostlike supernatural aspect of the sisterhood.

Regarding sound, the music is half of the story. We have combined folk songs and modern-day music to create a musical storytelling that connects to every woman.

If you could sum up the show in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?

I would have to sum it up as ‘Powerful’. The story is powerful because it comes at the stories of these women from a place of regeneration and hope. The music is so intense and unified that it really pulls you in and drives the story. The physicality, music and message all band together to create this fierce piece of storytelling.

Mother Tongue runs at The Space Theatre, London, on 14 – 15 November. Tickets available at https://space.org.uk/event/mother-tongue/