Storyhouse Women at Chester Storyhouse

Storyhouse Women is back with its annual weekend festival celebrating women and girls rocking up at Chester’s newest arts centre for three whole days. Now in its second year, from Friday 26 to Sunday 28 April, Storyhouse Women (which programmes events year round) will be exploring a range of global issues, including feminism, careers, domestic violence, Islamophobia, addiction, women in sport, rape culture, transgender stories and more. Expect talks, panel discussions, debates, performances, workshops, book club get-togethers, poetry and music, plus female-focused films on the big screens, including Maiden – the incredible, against-all-odds story of sailor Tracy Edwards, who skippered the first all-female international crew in the 1989 Whitbread Round The World Yacht Race – and The Judge – a powerful documentary following Kholoud Al-Faqih, who became the first woman judge to be appointed in the Middle East’s Shari’a courts.

Plenty is in the pipeline, yet to be announced, but two headliners have been revealed: Rose McGowan, the author, actor and feminist activist, who will discuss her bestselling memoir/manifesto Brave at 7.30pm on Friday 26 April, and Catherine Mayer, the author and co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party, who will present her unique show FFS also at 7.30pm on Saturday 27 April.

First off, Scream actress and one-time fiancée of shock rock star Marilyn Manson, Rose McGowan will be discussing her raw, honest and empowering memoir/manifesto, Brave, which came out last year, around the same time as her four-part documentary series Citizen Rose. Both explore her childhood living as part of the controversial group Children Of God and her career, including her experiences with assault in the film industry and her role in the Me Too movement which came out of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations. Expect a thought-provoking evening of candid, enlightening and important conversation.

Scream actress and one-time fiancée of shock rock star Marilyn Manson, Rose McGowan will be discussing her raw, honest and empowering memoir/manifesto, Brave

Catherine Mayer is the best-selling author of three books: Amortality: The Pleasures And Perils Of Living Agelessly, Charles: The Heart Of A King and last year’s Attack Of The Fifty Foot Women: How Gender Equality Can Save The World! She’s also an award-winning journalist, at the end of her tether, and this new show FFS is the result. Drawing on her front-line experiences of journalism and politics – she’s also the co-founder of the Women’s Equality (WE) Party – Catherine will explain how debates have become so damagingly polarised that it’s to the detriment of all of us, and she’ll also (hopefully) have a few answers to offer.

Day passes and weekend tickets to Storyhouse Women Weekend are available (please note that Rose McGowan: Brave and Catherine Mayer: FFS are not included in either the day or weekend passes) and free tickets are on offer if you are below the age of 19 or if you would not otherwise be able to afford to attend – see the Storyhouse website for details.