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Votes For Women
Published on Wednesday, 10 April 2013
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MEET: Visitor Information Centre (venue website)
Tours
4, 11, 25 May, 1 Jun, 12:30pm-1:30pm; 9, 16, 23, 30 May, 6:30pm-7:30pm

Nestling near the back of the Fringe programme, Brighton’s unique “Tours” section is an often-overlooked delight. Within its pages, you’ll find a diverse and entertaining range of walkabouts, offering a welcome al-fresco alternative to yet another show in a darkened room. And while many of the tours focus on the unique side of life in the city, Votes For Women offers something slightly different – a local snapshot of a nationwide upheaval, and a tale that still has telling resonance even in our present day.

Throughout her meticulously-researched itinerary, our guide Karen Antoni dips liberally into the archives of the long-gone Brighton Herald, delivering a fascinating narrative of a society thrown into turmoil.  There are entertaining tales of “bellowing pandemonium” in the incongruous setting of Pavilion Gardens, but she conjures up more thought-provoking images too: look out along the way for the genteel back-street townhouse, where former political prisoners found space and time to heal.

When we took the tour in 2012, we did find the patter a little too scripted, so we hope that this year Antoni will allow more of her obvious passion and knowledge to shine through.  But in any case, expect a good-length walk – yup, including a hill – and be sure to bring some questions to ask along the way.  It’s the details which make this such a vivid vignette; you’ll hear plenty about the city, but you’ll learn about much larger things, too.

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