SCORES of events – from a Loose Women-style panel to a look at the role of the Women’s Land Army in the war – will be staged in York next month as part of International Women’s Week.

Co-ordinator Sue Lister said 65 “amazingly diverse” events will be on offer during the week, which runs from March 2 to 10.

“The week is packed and has the potential to attract audiences and participants from across Yorkshire and beyond,” she said.

She said six shows would be performed at various venues around the city, including Dementia & Me by the Real People Theatre on March 4 and 5 at the Quad South Hall (Old Chapel Theatre) at the University of York St John.

“Dementia has become the new taboo subject after cancer,” she said.

“Yet people are finding ways of living with it to the best of their ability day by day. It’s this resourcefulness that we need to tap into within ourselves.

“Through sharing the inner thoughts and feelings of a mother and daughter, the Real People Theatre will explore ways of coping and invite audience reflection and feedback. Poetry, story, music, art and individual creativity of all kinds offer a way forward.”

She said York libraries will host a number of free events, including a Loose Women-style panel where some of York’s top female leaders will discuss issues of the day.

At Women On The Frontline, at the Priory Street Centre on Saturday March 2, female human rights defenders currently based at the Centre for Applied Human Rights will discuss their experiences in human rights work and talk about the challenges they face, followed by a question and answer session.

Naomi Beeley will use archives and objects from the Yorkshire Museum of Farming in an interactive session at York Explore Library on Sunday, March 3, exploring the work of the Women’s Land Army during the Second World War.

The Barberellas, said to be York’s most eclectic female vocal quintet, will sing “songs of friendship, love, bad times, loneliness and men, whether you need them or you don’t”, at the Black Swan in Peasholme Green on Saturday, March 2.

Sue said 2,000 copies of the week’s programme were being distributed to libraries, community centres, city centre outlets and the Friends’ Meeting House.