Top Takeaways from Sally Wainwright

As new series Riot Women hits our screens, multi-BAFTA-winning writer Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax, Gentleman Jack) and acclaimed actor Tamsin Greig joined in conversation with Leeds’ own Gaynor Faye. This stimulating talk unpicked the story behind the bold new drama about five women who form a Northern punk band—exploring wider themes of rebellious female depictions, gender stereotypes, and subverting outdated clichés on stage and screen today.

Top Takeaways:

Riot Women highlights the ongoing misogyny in today’s society and lack of true understanding around menopause.

During the height of her career, Sally felt that she was disappearing.  Her therapy was to write and so she decided to write something meaningful.

Riot Women marries a female rock band – inspired by Sally’s favourite programme, Rock Follies – with the realities of menopause. Rock Follies  inspired Sally to write, produce and work alongside great actors-  “there’s been nothing else like it on TV since.”

Tamsin to Sally: “You do something quite extraordinary and poetic in your writing”

 “I would add in parts just to make Sally laugh during filming” – Tamsin Greig

Sally: “Kay (Gaynor’s mum who passed away last year) said to me, don’t write for Coronation Street for more than 5 years because otherwise you’ll never leave.  She was a brilliant mentor and encouraged me to eventually work on my own projects.”

Further Reading / Related Podcasts 

• Riot Woman! The hit new BBC series

• Rebel Women: Feminist Inspirations from Frida Kahlo to RuPaul by Rachel Rose Innes A visual and narrative celebration of women who rebelled in art, culture, and politics.

• Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus
  A history of feminist punk and grassroots cultural resistance — a relevant backdrop for a show about women, music, and protest.

1. “The Female Gaze” (podcast) – Women in Punk & Performance
   Conversations about women reclaiming music, space, and voice in “male” genres.

Documentaries / Films 

• Punk: Attitude (2005)
  Explores punk culture, DIY music, anger and expression — a useful companion to Riot Women’s musical rebellion theme.
  

• 20,000 Days on Earth (2014)
  While not about gender explicitly, it’s a creative, episodic meditation on life, time, and artistic struggle — style over plot.
  
• The Punk Singer (2013)
  The life and influence of Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill / Le Tigre) and feminism in punk — a real-life parallel to themes of female rebellion.