The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade

Some exciting news from Fire Brigade HQ! 

We’ve been awarded a generous grant by the Institute of Physics Public Engagement team. Their support means we can run a series of free “Family Physics Singalong” workshops during the summer of 2026. The workshops will sit alongside our very first concert performances of the show, at three rural festivals in Cheltenham, Oxfordshire and Lincoln. We are so grateful to the IOP for helping us bring Hertha and her friends to new audiences and can’t wait to get started on the project!

Here’s a little about the workshops:

• “Family Physics Singalong” is a free family singing workshop that explores the creative connections between physics and music. It’s led by the writers of “The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade”, a new musical about STEM pioneer Hertha Ayrton and a group of singing science students who fought for social justice 150 years ago.

• During the workshop, families will discover some of the history of Hertha and her friends, and learn a science-themed song from the show: “Put Out The Fire”. Each workshop will also invite a local female physicist to share her story and her science. This will create a springboard into everyone singing along with popular, family-friendly songs that reflect her field of physics. 

• Families will also be joined by a professional singer from the cast of “The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade”, bringing high quality performance skills along with their own interest in physics. Each workshop will culminate in the co-creation of a new song that includes words and ideas from the families, guest physicist and guest singer.  

If you want to be the first to find out how to join these inclusive, stereotype-busting workshops that explore the creative connections between physics and music, join our mailing list or follow us on Instagram and Facebook. And if you’re a physicist working in any of the regions we’re visiting, get in touch as there might be a way to get even more involved! 

Two young people enjoying some hands-on Physics at an IOP event

The IOP is just one of the brilliant organisations supporting what we’re doing with The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade. 

The British Society for History of Science is also supporting one very specific part of the show through an Outreach and Engagement Project Grant. Their funding is helping us to write, record and share three songs that will appear in the final show, but also stand alone as solo performances, to highlight three of our Fire Brigade crew: astronomer Annie Maunder, mathematician Charlotte Scott, and chemist Ida Freund. So far, our solo for Charlotte called “The Shape Of Things” has been written, and with some help from University of Lincoln students we’ll be recording and sharing all three songs during 2026. 

Why University of Lincoln, you might ask? Because we are also incredibly lucky to be Lincoln Arts Centre “Innovate Artists” this year, which has given us even more opportunities to continue writing the show, and then workshop our new material with a group of 2nd Year UoL Musical Theatre undergraduates. Charlotte Scott – one of our main characters – was born in Lincolnshire, and our residency with the Arts Centre has brought this connection into the spotlight. On the UoL campus, there are dozens of buildings named after local luminaries: poet Alfred Tannyson, scientist Isaac Newton and… yes… mathematician Charlotte Scott! Unfortunately, hardly anyone recognises which building it is, let alone who it’s named after – but we’re here to change that!

And – last but not least – we’re hugely grateful to our longest term supporter, Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musical Theatre Department. Without their support via the New Musical Theatre Writers Group, we wouldn’t have been able to even start writing this show. Their continuing support means a huge amount to us as we continue down the long and winding path to production… 

Here’s a recording of the showcase that Birmingham Hippodrome created and hosted back in March 2025, where our fully formed Fire Brigade came to life on stage for the first time!