Jenny Lockyer presents Amy Johnson: Last Flight Out (Flying High Tour)
This stunning one-woman show celebrates pioneering pilot Amy Johnson, mixing performance and discussion to illustrate her incredible story. In her own words she was ‘an ordinary woman who has achieved extraordinary things’.
Amy Johnson became the first British woman to qualify as a ground engineer and at just 26 years old the first woman in the world to fly solo from England to Australia.
The audience meets Amy in a world of mixed memories, desires, and ambitions.
Born in 1903, the year the Wright Brothers made their first flight, Amy Johnson grew up in an age in which the romantic heights of flying would capture her heart.
On the 5 May, 1930, a small green Gipsy Moth bi-plane called 'Jason' took off from Croydon Airport, solo piloted by unknown flier Amy Johnson, a ‘typist from Hull’ with the aim of breaking the record to Australia.
Amy broke Bert Hinkler’s record to India along the way and went on to become the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. The record-breaking flight captured the imagination of the world and made Amy an international superstar. Amy continued to live her life for adventure and the future of aviation.
In January 1941, at the age of 37, Amy was killed while serving her country on a routine flight for the Air Transport Auxiliary, bailing out over the Thames Estuary at Herne Bay.
In her short life this 'lone girl flier' achieved many great things while faced with challenges of all kinds. As the show explores her life, we start to see how the pieces fit and the tools Amy used to bring her dreams to reality.
Writer and performer Jenny Lockyer said: ‘It’s been almost a hundred years since Amy's incredible flight to Australia and Amy’s story is still as relevant and exciting as ever. Understanding how we can bring our ideas to reality is not just the basics of engineering but inspires all kinds of other decisions in our lives. My aim is to explore with audiences of all ages how Amy had a dream and made it happen.”
Professor Dawn Bonfield at The Royal Academy of Engineering described the show as a 'one woman masterpiece'. She said: “’It’s a celebration of the amazing achievement of Amy Johnson, but also an inspiration to anybody who has ever had a dream.”
Each performance on the tour is followed by a Q&A exploring the theme of ‘aspiration’. The show has inspired a vast body of work in schools with Jenny leading educational workshops for younger audiences exploring Amy’s legacy and the engineering side of Amy’s career.
The show comes to Doncaster Little Theatre on Friday 14 February 2025 at 8pm (doors 7pm).
Tickets are £15 (£10), comtact the box office on 01302 340422 or email doncasterlittletheatre.co.uk/