This weekend work of two women writers, whose work reaches from Hertfordshire to the global world, will be showcased by Pursued by a Bear (PBAB) As part of their Foundry Festival 2018 at Trestle Arts Base on Friday, PBAB’s artistic director Rosamunde Hutt will direct work by Anna Reynolds and Afia Nkrumah from the BBC Talent Hot List 2017.

Nothing on Earth (working title) by Anna Reynolds, inspired by Trestle’s Heritage Lottery funded Hertfordshire Hidden Heroines project, and The Wake (working title) by Afia Nkrumah, developed from her short film The Trousseau.

In celebration of the Suffragette Centenary the two new plays honour Heroines, historical and contemporary.

Nothing on Earth honours ground-breaking women from Hertfordshire, weaving together the stories of five rule breakers, risk takers and daredevils, real women who fought for suffrage, made astonishing scientific advances, travelled the globe and performed breath taking aerial feats. We follow these women through time and space where they connect with a lonely and confused but curious young millennial.

Anna says: “San Fransisco’s people, the Mediterranean Sea, the Yorkshire moors, Norfolk skies all inspire me. I’d love to see my work produced somewhere it wouldn’t usually happen - so that could be anywhere - one play has just been produced in a disused factory in Poland!”

Afia’s The Wake is a contemporary psychological drama that takes place during the vibrant rituals of a Ghanaian funeral. It tells the story of Yaa, a young British Ghanaian woman, who returns home after her mother’s sudden death. Yaa is expected to take her mother’s place as the head of the family, despite her lack of familiarity with her tribe’s rituals. Caught in a net of secrets and mendacious relatives, Yaa navigates through bereavement and finding her place. Set in a female Ghanaian household, The Wake is an intense and funny story of loss, betrayal and family expectations.

Afia says: “One of the key themes explored is identity for second generation migrant children such as myself. The tension between being British and being African at the same time and how that sometimes causes internal conflict.”

Trestle Arts Base, Russet Drive, St Albans, AL4 0JQ, Friday, May 18 at 7.30pm. Details: 01727 850950