WOW is excited to announce we will be heading off on tour this autumn with a brand new live series The WOW Show with Jude Kelly. WOW’s Founder and acclaimed theatre director will invite conversation around our often exasperating and confusing journey towards gender equity with audiences at theatres around the country.

The tour will visit The Exchange Twickenham (10 October), Chipping Norton Theatre (11 October), Brighton Dome Studio Theatre (12 October), York Theatre Royal (13 October), and Bradford St George’s Hall (16 October).

Produced in a new partnership with esk, Jude will share the stage with a different line-up of special guests to be announced at each venue, including amazing women and non-binary people local to each area who are making change happen – challenging stereotypes, bucking the trend, and who have inspiring personal stories to share.

Alongside personal anecdotes, big pictures analysis and tales of incredible women you may have never heard of but who changed the course of history, each evening will crowdsource burning issues and ideas local audiences want to talk about, covering everything from money, sex, race, food, ageing and more, as WOW and audiences will discover along the way.

Each tour date will include an appearance by a local hero working to better the lives of people in their area, nominated by the local community. Details of the nomination process and all guests who will appear on the first The WOW Show with Jude Kelly will be announced later this year.

Speaking about the brand new show, Jude said: “I’m excited to be hitting the road with WOW and heading off on tour. Wherever WOW is in the world, the thing I enjoy most is meeting local heroines and unearthing stories of the incredible things people are doing in their communities. It’s WOW’s 15th anniversary in 2025, and although we are far from having a gender equal society, there is still a huge amount to celebrate. I’m looking forward to meeting the people that are making change happen in their local towns and cities, and joining with audiences as we celebrate together this autumn.”

The WOW Show with Jude Kelly follows recent WOW Festivals in Rotherham and Manchester in the UK, and in Pakistan, Nepal, Turkey, Greece and Australia, all of which have taken place in the build up to WOW’s 15th anniversary in 2025... watch this space for more 15th anniversary news in the coming months!

With thanks to our Global Founding Partner Bloomberg for its support in our work year-round.