On this page you can find out more information about The KATHARINE project, why we made it, how we made it and the team behind the project.
If you are interested in booking The KATHARINE project for your Cathedral, Church, Historic Building, Festival or Library you’ll also find more details here.
About
Marking the quincentenary of the ‘King’s Great Matter,’ the project reclaims Katharine of Aragon’s narrative—not as a discarded wife, but as a resilient political figure, Spanish migrant, and woman of faith. Written by neurodivergent playwright Nicola Werenowska, the work maps Katharine’s memories onto physical spaces, blending live performance and dance with "silent disco" technology to transform public buildings into private psychological landscapes.
Nicola says:
"I've long been fascinated by the stories of real women, women who history has the tendency to erase or reduce to a mere footnote. Henry VIII's first wife KATHARINE OF ARAGON is one such woman. With Katharine I wanted to move past the history to her story, to reclaim her narrative from a vital and fresh female perspective.
I wanted to explore her memories directly so that her resilience, faith, and defiance feel immediate. The more we explored, the more we found how deeply her struggles as a migrant and political figure 500 years ago echo the upheavals and societal challenges we face in today's world."
Esther Simpson our director adds:
“When Nicky and I first started exploring working together it was the story of KATHARINE OF ARAGON which excited us both. We wanted to create a theatrical experience that breaks out of conventional auditoriums to inhabit spaces steeped in history and community life. By blending a live performer with cutting-edge binaural audio technology, we are turning historical walls into an atmospheric soundscape where audiences don't just watch her story—they find themselves immersed in it.
To perform KATHARINE in settings like cathedrals, castles, and local community libraries allows us to intimately connect todays world with her world. It’s an incredibly moving way to explore power, betrayal, and erasure, inviting the audience to stand up close to herstory"
Right from the beginning of the project we have had the support of two fantastic Cathedrals - Peterborough where Katharine is buried, and Chester where both Esther and Nicky have worked before.
We’ve also had the support and been able to utilise the fantastic spaces and connections of Harwich Arts and Heritage Centre, in Tendring, where Slaget Theatre and our producer Matthew Linley is based.
