Bavarian Suffragettes

We would be living in a different city if more people had listened to these women. One-hundred-and-twenty years ago, Munich was a total bastion of the women’s movement. Many female artists led the movement, including Anita Augspurg and Sophia Goudstikker and their legendary “Elvira” photo studio, as well as many female writers such as Gabriele Reuter, Carry Brachvogel and Helene Böhlau. These women radically questioned the status quo, wanted to work (and be mothers) and fought for “education, health and rights”, even though they were forbidden from organising themselves politically. They met anyway, smoked and drank, engaged in all kinds of relationships and created a politically effective movement. This musical play raises the roof and digs deeper! We introduce ten forgotten protagonists and connect them to the present. The first Bavarian Women’s Day in 1899 was both a high point and a turning point. Again and again, the movement faltered and achievements were forgotten. The Nazis thoroughly eliminated the legacy of the first women’s movement, but these women also have no place in the city’s collective memory of today. There was never such a thing as “Bavarian Suffragettes”. But, with this play, we invent and investigate the female friendships of yesterday in order to inspire the networks and role models of tomorrow.

Photo: Julian Baumann

Photo: Julian Baumann

Photo: Julian Baumann

Photo: Julian Baumann

Photo: Julian Baumann

Photo: Julian Baumann

Photo: Julian Baumann

Photo: Julian Baumann

Photo: Julian Baumann

Photo: Julian Baumann

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