This September, The UK Pantomime Association will host a very special talk about suffragettes on stage in partnership with The North Wall Arts Centre in Oxford.
About the talk
Title: Suffragettes on Stage: Pantomime, Politics and Popular Entertainment
Date: Wednesday 16 September 2026
Time: 8pm
Venue: The North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford
Climbing mountains, starting fights and chasing politicians – from Edinburgh to Plymouth and from the Yorkshire Dales to Drury Lane, suffragette characters frequently appeared in Edwardian pantomimes as figures of fun.
This talk will explore Votes for Women and the professional stage, how activists were portrayed in popular entertainments, and how they they used comedy to challenge negative stereotypes about the campaign. Featuring fancy dress on roller skates, ju-jitsu, magic, Punch and Judy, the Anti-Suffrage Waxworks, and much much more – this talk will introduce you to the more playful side of the suffrage movement including the work of the Actresses’ Franchise League, campaigns for better working conditions for pantomime performers, and the pantomimes staged for wounded service personnel at the Endell Street Hospital in the First World War.
About the speaker
The talk will be delivered by Dr Naomi Paxton who is a performer, researcher and broadcaster. She has published widely on suffrage theatre and the Actresses’ Franchise League, curated exhibitions at the National Theatre and UK Parliament, and is an Honorary Fellow of The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and an AHRC/BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker.
Naomi also performs professionally as her comedy and cabaret alter ego Ada Campe. Ada Campe regularly hosts and performs across the UK comedy and cabaret circuits and at events and festivals – including for Glastonbury, the Wellcome Collection, The Magic Circle, Comedy Club 4 Kids, and the V&A.
She came Top of the Bill at the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year Show, 2018, won Leicester Square Old Comedian of the Year in 2018, the Good Egg Award at Stand Comedy Club in 2019, Best Panto Performance at the Offie Awards in 2024 and most recently Best Supporting Artist at The Pantomime Awards 2026.