CRITICALLY acclaimed musician and singer Louise Jordan performs ‘No Petticoats Here’ tomorrow (Friday, June 1) at The Met, telling the stories of remarkable women from the First World War.

Based on extensive research and combining original live music with recorded sound, this one-woman performance is described as being a theatre concert like no other; a rich visual and auditory experience that connects the audience with the past and the words of these inspirational women.

Following two successful tours Louise was granted Arts Council England funding to develop the performance working with theatre director Lizzie Crarer and sound designer Jules Bushell.

Louise said: "This performance is very different to most concerts: it is enhanced by technology with pre-recorded sound tracks bringing the words of the women and the sounds they experienced to life. This soundscape weaves around the original songs I have written and I also present framed images of the women and perform in costume to help the audience visualise the stories."

When Louise husband was asked in November 2014, where he would like to go for his birthday, he chose the Somme in France as a way of commemorating one hundred years since the First World War began. She had recently toured in Europe with a song about 18th century New Forest smuggleress "Lovey Warne" and had enjoyed the connection this story from her local area made across cultures.

Whilst visiting the battlefields of the Somme she found few images of women in the museums, exhibitions and other places of remembrance. The portrait of Louise de Bettignies, which Louise had seen in the Basilica of Notre Dame de Lorette, stayed in her mind long after the trip. Louise de Bettignies was a Frenchwoman who worked for the British managing a network of spies around Lille as well as undertaking incredibly dangerous work herself. It was this story and the response to the song about Lovey Warne that inspired No Petticoats Here.

No Petticoats Here tells the real life stories of varied and remarkable women of the Great War and was inspired by the story of Dorothy Lawrence; an orphan whose guardian lived in Salisbury Cathedral Close. Dorothy dressed as a soldier in order to visit the Western Front and pursue her journalistic ambitions. Jordan quickly became fascinated by the stories of female ambulance drivers, scientists, footballers and spies.

Louise said: "The First World War too often remembers women as the mourners of the fallen, as frugal housewives ‘making do’ or angelic nurses caring patiently for the men who returned from the Front Line. Through No Petticoats Here I remember some of the many women whose stories do not fit conveniently into boxes and whose experiences are both astonishing and relatable one hundred years on."

Before taking to the stage, Louise worked as a secondary school teacher of history and citizenship. Between teaching and her own experiences as a student, she was often frustrated by the lack of diversity and perspectives presented in text books.

She is now delivering a project funded by HLF ‘Never Had They Ever’ and she is supporting young people aged 13-19 years to write songs about women’s First World War experiences. This has involved visiting museums and archives to engage with the heritage and support with songwriting.

For tickets visit https://themet.org.uk/event/no-petticoats-here/