Home
About Us
Affairs & Opinions
Arts & Culture
Creative Space
Heroines
Bodies
Books
Harpies
  • Sacha Crowther
  • Guests
  • Althaea Sandover
  • Alys Marshall
  • Rose Collard
  • Ellie Wriglesworth
  • Lydia Bruton-Jones
  • Harpy Magazine

Archive
  • 2025
  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
Harpy. pop culture, politics & the promotion of women's voices
Kym Marsh dazzles as Mike Leigh’s leading lady
Apr 13

Apr 13 Kym Marsh dazzles as Mike Leigh’s leading lady

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

Comforting nostalgia meets uncomfortably familiar “networking” situations. 1970s kitsch meets sadly universal male aggression. And everyone drinks a LOT of gin along the way.

Escaped Alone & What If, If Only: A Distilled, Dystopian Double-bill
Feb 16

Feb 16 Escaped Alone & What If, If Only: A Distilled, Dystopian Double-bill

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

In less than 90 minutes of stage-time combined, these two short plays take on the complexities of mental illness, ageing, grief, and loneliness. 

Celebrate Manchester Pride at HOME: My Son’s a Queer Review
Aug 23

Aug 23 Celebrate Manchester Pride at HOME: My Son’s a Queer Review

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

The journey to self-acceptance and true, full-colour self-expression is rarely straight.

“We will be loved anyway”

The Importance of Being Earnest - Wilde for the Instagram Generation
Jun 25

Jun 25 The Importance of Being Earnest - Wilde for the Instagram Generation

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

It’s loud, pink, and hilariously sassy; Oscar Wilde’s satire meets the Barbie era.

A Taste of Honey: an intimate, intense mother-daughter drama
Mar 25

Mar 25 A Taste of Honey: an intimate, intense mother-daughter drama

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

From Salford playwright, Shelagh Delaney, comes an intimate depiction of a mother-daughter relationship and the men who come between.

Work It Out: A Comedic Combination of Inner Demons, Camaraderie, and Dancing.
Mar 10

Mar 10 Work It Out: A Comedic Combination of Inner Demons, Camaraderie, and Dancing.

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

Touching upon every inch of the human experience. Tackling mental and physical afflictions, and the unfair societal structures that often exacerbate them through comedy.

Shed: Exploded View - an important emotional cacophony
Feb 21

Feb 21 Shed: Exploded View - an important emotional cacophony

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

We look in as microaggressions compile and connect to become something huge.

TW: themes of domestic abuse

Saltburn: Desire, disgust, and dirty bathwater
Feb 20

Feb 20 Saltburn: Desire, disgust, and dirty bathwater

Guests
Arts & Culture

Saltburn makes you look at desire and sex in a way that is both interesting and tricky to look at.

Bi-Topia: Seeking Self-definition on Stage
Feb 10

Feb 10 Bi-Topia: Seeking Self-definition on Stage

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

Bi-Topia tells the story of battling with uncertain sexuality, mental health and the very definition of masculinity.

Escaping the "Other": F*ck Miss Saigon
Jul 4

Jul 4 Escaping the "Other": F*ck Miss Saigon

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

A sharply political comedy tackling racist theatrical tropes. Courtesy of a newfound transcendental awareness, Kim rejects and shatters the stereotypes that have bound her and her sisters who came before.

Queen Lear - Fiercely Feminine Shakespeare
Jun 12

Jun 12 Queen Lear - Fiercely Feminine Shakespeare

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

King turned Queen, Lear is a celebration of theatre and diversity, in a Northern, female voice.

The Female Force: A Stirring Story of Women Police Constables.
May 26

May 26 The Female Force: A Stirring Story of Women Police Constables.

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

A Force to be Reckoned With celebrates the strides made by pioneering female “policemen”, facing sexism through song and sketch.

No Pay? No Way! Political Farce at the Royal Exchange
May 22

May 22 No Pay? No Way! Political Farce at the Royal Exchange

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

A modern translation of the original play, No Pay? No Way! highlights that the economic troubles of 70s Italy are not only still relevant, but arguably only getting worse.

The Merchant of Venice (1936) -
Mar 19

Mar 19 The Merchant of Venice (1936) -

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

In this female-fronted Shakespearean interpretation, we are reminded of the antisemitism and prejudice that still pervades contemporary society.

Teachers are striking - and it’s about time.
Mar 1

Mar 1 Teachers are striking - and it’s about time.

Guests
Affairs & Opinions

This is what it’s really like to be a teacher who knows all the best places at school to go and cry.

Beginning: A Touching Two-Hander about Taking the Plunge
Feb 24

Feb 24 Beginning: A Touching Two-Hander about Taking the Plunge

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

In a post-house-party haze, Laura and Danny find clarity on life, loneliness, and possibilities.

An honest chat about intimate fluids: let’s bust those taboos
Jan 21

Jan 21 An honest chat about intimate fluids: let’s bust those taboos

Harpy Mag
Bodies

Misinformation and lack of knowledge often turn our bodily fluids into a taboo. So we spoke to Bodyform, to get the lowdown on what’s going on down under.

Does “Bad” Feminism Exist?
Dec 29

Dec 29 Does “Bad” Feminism Exist?

Guests
Affairs & Opinions

Feminism is not a complicated ideology. But, with so many diverse interpretations of the topic, the perception of this movement has been skewed over time. Now the idea of “bad” feminism has begun to take shape.

Betty! A Sort of Musical
Dec 12

Dec 12 Betty! A Sort of Musical

Sacha Crowther
Arts & Culture

The brand new “sort of musical” from the Royal Exchange celebrates the first (and only!) female speaker of the House of Commons, and defiant Northern Lass.

Women in Online Gaming: How We’re Breaking Through A Male-Centric Field
Nov 28

Nov 28 Women in Online Gaming: How We’re Breaking Through A Male-Centric Field

Harpy Mag
Affairs & Opinions

Do men really dominate the video games industry? Female gamers are starting to claim their space.

Load More
“Unlike watching a film, recorded theatre productions carry a gravitas. I felt burdened by the weight of them, but still they lacked a distinct sense of theatricality."

As lockdown eases, we can't WAIT to get back to the theatre 🏃‍♀️
It's official - Compass Festival is back!  With a year-long programme of free interactive art pieces to make you think, feel, and smile, @compassfestlds is the perfect way to ease yourself back into Leeds events. Many of the installations will take p
Had a good laugh this morning at an email from a dental company launching a RAINBOW electric toothbrush in honour of Pride... But then realised it will donate 100% of profits to LGBTQ+ charities nominated by the customers which is actually cool. If y
It's been a wild year. And not the fun wild, either. Sad wild, weird wild, wild tired. We've been stressed out, isolated, grieving; caught in a riptide between fear and drudgery. So, as life begins to change again, have as much compassion as you can

Write to Harpy
Archives