Meet the team of upcoming Sheffield female led production ‘The Hunger’

The play follows the dysfunctional relationship between mother and daughter, Deborah, played by Susannah May, and Megan, played by Ellen Trevaskiss, as the pair survive an epidemic.

Madeleine Farnhill, the writer and co-director of the play, hopes the production will highlight the importance of female leading roles in the performing arts.

Ms Farnhill, 21, an English and Theatre student, said: “I feel so strongly about writing an all-female cast, it’s incredibly important to have more women involved in theatre, because women are often misrepresented.”

One of the leading actresses, Susannah May, 59, who plays Deborah felt it was important to strip back the traditional Hollywood glamour and represent ‘real’ women in this production.

She said: “It’s not a glamorous role, because in the past I have always been cast in glamour or power roles, but in real life there are a lot of women in Debora’s position, where they have got to look after themselves and survive.

“Debora represents all women, not the perfect women.”

The cast has also been rehearsing remotely since the start of the pandemic and are hoping to start performing again, in the return of face-to-face performances on 17 May.

Helen Denning, 24, co-director, said: “There’s been the good old connection errors and it’s been different but we’ve made it work really well and I am impressed with how much we have achieved.”

The production is set make its debut at Sheffield’s DINA Theatre on 21 June.