Back in the 1990s I was the only woman electrician in the UK film industry. Ten years, countless qualifications, one Alec Baldwin — all in pursuit of one thing: proving I could be as good as a man.
Turns out the men weren’t what I thought they were.
A rousing true story about power, belonging, and the one time I decided who got to see the light. Funny, nostalgic, and — I promise — it really happened.
This page contains:
- 1 minute trailer
- 2 x 5 minute Bonus Stories
- About Vanessa
- Poster
- Headshot
- Audience comments
- Details about the show and content
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2. Click here for a couple of short bonus stories about my encounters with Spice Girls & Tim Burton.
3. About Vanessa
Vanessa grew up in London and now lives in Peckham.
She’s been a professional storyteller since 2010. Her stories usually draw on myth, legend, folklore and history. “She’s Electric” is her first true-life-personal storytelling show. Her trailblazing and unique story performances have taken her around the world. She has shared her stories with TEDx Stormont (Northern Ireland), and on TV, radio and podcasts. In her quest for unusual narratives and venues, she told the story of the “Brompton Cemetery Time Machine” after dark in the cemetery and is well known for her work on The Highgate Vampire tale. In 2017 she created “Unripped”, a newly researched tale about the childhood of Catherine Eddows- one of the Ripper women. One of her stories, ‘The Peckham Toymaker’, was made into a three metre high interactive sculpture in the grounds of Goldsmiths University. As a response to COVID, she crowdfunded a new storytelling club (Story Co-Op, now Elephant Tales) and monthly free storytelling workshops for adults called “Space for Storytelling” (now in it’s third year). She has collaborated with dozens of major museums and cultural institutions, businesses, publishers, film makers, artists & academics.
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4. POSTER
5. Headshot
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6. Comments from Works In Progress
“funny and fun and sad and questioning – everything as an audience you wish for. Epic resonances for working women, and community and creativity and women’s self perception across our lifespans…. just SO MUCH in there that speaks to other career trajectories of women across the industry…. ” – Jo
“magnificent – we were so with you, through every hue of emotion – we were laughing, whooping, crying, afraid…The show also had a kind of epic quality to it – at points like we were hearing about a character from mythology, as if your experiences spoke for many of us and told a story about many of us.” -Jumana
” it was perfect, keeping me engaged and sooo entertained. I was so inspired and impressed by your journey, determination and resilience.” – Trish
“Almost Biblical… What a beautiful and devastating tale” Emer
“I loved the story even more second time around” Anna Maria
“God you can tell a story! as a non English speaker (as a first language I mean) it’s very easy to lose my attention. Absolutely loved it. Truly inspiring.” -Jerga
7. Detailed information about the show (for promotors only)
One person, no props. No special lighting or sound set up required. No blackout requuired.
Runtime 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 with no interval.
The story includes swearing, a depiction of sexual threat and a mention of drug use.
The story shows how I achieved success in an unusual and overwhelmingly-male job ( I was the only woman doing this job in the whole UK!) As well as being the only woman, I was also among the youngest. I’ll unpick some of the power dynamics I faced as a solo young woman, especially, for example, when I was driving an HGV lorry for a crew of men overseas. I’ll also draw out some of the challenges, joys and barriers that my male colleagues faced- this is a show for men too!
The story includes some fun behind the scenes gossip about movie stars who are still famous today including Jude Law, Ewan McGregor and Alec Baldwin.
Finally, this all happened a long time ago, before smartphones and pretty much before the internet, so there’s a good bit of nostalgia too!