Pianoforte - the Story of Mary Frost - The Riverfront

Her Story Theatre Company, the acclaimed Newport-based company, which brings the hidden stories of women to centre stage, is delighted to bring Pianoforte, the Story of Mary Frost to The Riverfront. The powerful new play by Adele Cordner is inspired by the book Mary Frost, Wife, Mother, Chartist by Newport writer Sylvia Mason.

Set against the backdrop of the 1839 Newport Rising, Pianoforte is a story of resilience, justice and love, following the life of a woman at the very heart of one of the most significant and defining uprisings in British democratic history, led by her husband John Frost.

Mary, like many Victorian women, was forced into the shadows, yet her courage, compassion, and quiet determination provided the emotional and practical backbone of the Chartist movement, organising, supporting, and sustaining the cause in countless unseen ways.

Pianoforte captures Mary’s joys and heartbreaks with emotional depth and historical precision. The play charts her journey from devoted wife and mother to a quietly radical woman whose belief in fairness and equality mirrored the very ideals of Chartism, a struggle for democracy that remains profoundly relevant today.

Original music, composed by Helen Woods, underscores moments of hope, grief, and triumph, weaving music and drama together into a deeply moving theatrical experience.

Her Story Theatre Company’s Pianoforte not only celebrates Newport’s proud radical heritage but also reignites conversation about the ongoing struggle for equality and justice.