Doncaster performance to open South Yorkshire fringe festival centered around celebrating women

Holland Morell is the composer of Tonehenge, which will be held in Doncaster on March 5, as part of the fringe festival SheFest.

They said: “The show has a lot of music technology in it, I can play the set almost like a piano.

“It has a stone circle in it, and each stone is wired up to the computer so that I can make music just by touching the stones.

The set is a replica of Stonehenge - Holland made them from scratch using cardboard and tinfoil.

“The stone circle represents a safe space that you have in your mind,” said Holland, 35, of Bentley.

“A concept that is often used in counselling.”

The theme of the play is centered around childhood trauma with influence taken from Holland’s own experiences.

They said: “I think that it’s a topic that isn’t spoken about enough - it’s seen as taboo.

“People think ‘if we don’t talk about it - it isn’t happening’ but that’s not true.

“I’m a survivor and this performance is based on my own experiences combined with other people’s stories on the same topic.”

The show will cover how childhood trauma can leave emotional damage and lead to mental health issues.

It is a one-person show with Holland playing the main character Emily - who sits in the centre of the Stonehenge set whilst they share their story alongside playing the interactive set.

“Tonehenge will show how Emily used music to get through her trauma - music is a safe space.”

Information on childhood trauma and other related topics in the show will be provided by DRASACS (Doncaster Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service) and 10 per cent of profits made from Tonehange will also be donated to them.

Now in its fourth year SheFest is centered around International Women’s Day (March 8) and is a celebration across South Yorkshire including arts, performance and workshops.

This will be the first time the festival has been held in Doncaster.

Tickets to the show are £10 and can be purchased from Cast.