Flower girls at Hampstead theatre

From one play to the next. And they are very different plays. I saw Flower Girls at Hampstead Theatre in London.

I probably felt much more because the subject is closer to home about disabled women. Reminds me of Malaysia as it  is still now for disabled people and in China.

As for the play, there were times I got a bit lost as they flit between the ages as the unraveling of the girl's stories unfolds. I don't think it was all that effortless. But I was riveted  nervetheless. It shows a community of women - disabled or not - they support each other, back bite and were company and hell all at once.

After the play, I think there was a remark about the loss of the camaraderie of places like The Crippleage because now people live on their own in their own houses or apartments. Maybe I am a solitary person but I prefer my own space. But then i was never a girl gang type of person. Growing up in a mostly non disabled world, its exclusion and when I was young I never wanted to be counted among the disabled. Too busy trying to prove I was ' normal' and in denial about my disability and needs.

And of course, my hat is to Sophie  Partridge whom I met after the play  in the bar!

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Graeae, Britain's foremost disabled-led theatre company, joins forces with The New Wolsey Theare Ipswich to present the world premiere of Richard Cameron's latest play.
Flower Girls is the funny, beautifully observed and uplifting story of a group of disabled women who live and work at The Crippleage, Edgware. Inspired by the personal testimony and reminiscences of real-life Flower Girls, the play shifts effortlessly between the unsettled early years of World War II and the seemingly more liberated world of 1965.

A little back-ground...
In 1866, a 21-year old apprentice engraver called John Groom decided that he must take action to tackle the shocking plight of destitute and disabled women and children in the City of London .
John Groom was strongly motivated by his Christian faith and together with other members of his family this was an essential part of his work and life. His beliefs and Christian commitment continue to play a central part in the mission of John Grooms today.

John Groom was well ahead of his time in recognising the need to break the cycle of dependency for people with disabilities. His philanthropy went beyond generous giving, initially he hired rooms in Harp Alley for the Watercress and Flower Girls Mission which provided food and shelter.

He was, however, keen to do something more permanent and productive. He proposed that the disabled girls and women make hand-made flowers to sell on the streets. This was so successful that he developed a whole industry, enabling the girls and young women to become self-supporting, a revolutionary concept for Victorian England. The hand-made flower industry flourished and soon their products could be found at exhibitions and flower days across the country.

Such was the success of the flower making that by 1908, over 250 women were employed in the Seckforde Street factory and their fame spread countrywide. It was to John Grooms flower girls whom Queen Alexandra turned to make 13 million emblems for the first ever Alexandra Rose Day on 26 June 1912, which became a regular order for many decades.
In 1932, John Grooms built a new set of homes and work rooms in Edgware. It was a flagship project, comprising workrooms for flower-making, together with accommodation and gardens. It began a development programme that continues up to this day.
John Grooms no longer makes artificial flowers. The principles of independence and choice continue to be the central focus of modern day John Grooms. Today, its work includes nursing and residential care, holidays, training and housing.
Although now two separate organisations, JGHA and John Grooms, with their Head Office in the same building, both maintain the visionary ethos that motivated John Groom when he first began his missionary work back in 1866.

http://www.flowergirlsontour.com/