The Gathering Table – Reflections on a Night of Stories and Connection

Carole Pluckrose
Nov 11, 2025
3 min read

Introduction

On October 31st, All Hallows’ Eve, 65 women gathered at The Boathouse Studios for the very first Gathering Table, an evening of delicious food, story and song that brought women of different generations together to share and listen.

I wanted to create a space that felt intimate and hopeful, a time for us to get together, share food and stories, laugh, connect across ages and experiences. In a world that feels fractured, this felt like a mini act of repair, a small, deliberate contribution to keeping hope alive through collective action and shared creativity.

Inspiration

The idea had been with me for a long time. I first saw Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party exhibition in my early twenties, when I was a touring actor in New York, and it has stayed with me ever since.

I was moved and excited in equal measure. The 39 places set around the great triangular table, and the 999 women’s names etched into the ceramic floor honour women artists, scientists, writers and mythic characters. Those whose stories had been lost or buried. It is a powerful act of remembrance and reclamation.

And in this contemporary world of division and anger, I keep returning to that question: how do we create spaces where we can listen, connect and remember what binds us?

The Gathering Table, co-curated with my collaborator and Boathouse Creative Adviser Claire Steele, grew out of that question.

The Evening

That night, The Boathouse was full of beautiful decor, music and candlelight. Three long tables were set in a triangle with place settings for everyone, a shape that felt both ancient and right, holding us in balance between past, present and future.

On each table sat Dinner Party - inspired mats honouring women through time, and beautiful postcards designed by Claire, each with a curious question to prompt discussion. Around the walls we mounted posters created from our guests’ lines and passages from favourite books.

The evening opened with a powerful rendition of ‘She Used to be Mine’ from the musical Gemma Aukett, whose voice gathered us into one shared rhythm.

Then came the stories about moments of change and powerful stories of female ancestors. Dorinda Hulton began and was followed by Amari Blaize, Angelique Parvez, Amy Jackson, and finally Xanthippe Steele, who carried us through an inter-generational journey. Between them, Kemi Oloyede and Izzy Wolff sang songs that gave space to reflect, to breathe and to feel.

There was plenty of time to share the delicious feast that everyone had contributed to, and to meet and chat to old and new friends. And gently behind the pleasure of conversation was a beautifully female focused playlist by Ria Butler.

As the evening drew to a close, Julie, Shadene and Paige moved quietly around the room, lighting candles one by one until every table glowed.

Then, in that soft light, Izzy led us in the chorus of “Crowded Table.” Everyone joined in. It was a beautiful, wholehearted sound of women finding harmony together. It was a simple moment, but it held everything: warmth, memory, community, and hope.

Reflections

What touched me most wasn’t only the courage and beauty of the stories, but the sense of belonging that filled the room. People listened with their whole selves. There was no performance, no pretence, just truth, humour and tenderness.

That’s what The Gathering Table is really about: how powerful it is when art and everyday life meet around food, story and song.

Gratitude

My heartfelt thanks to our storytellers and singers. Dorinda, Amari, Angelique, Amy, Xanthippe, Gemma, Kemi and Izzy, to our music curator Ria, and to the wonderful preparation and host team Julie, Shadene, Farrah, Paige, Carl. Jill and Anne, for holding the space with such care.

Out of the Cauldron Short Story Competition

Out of the energy of that night, The Boathouse, By the Book Press and Pen to Print have come together to launch the Out of the Cauldron Short Story Competition. an invitation to women and femme-identifying writers to share a story about a moment of change, a woman who shaped your life, or a rite of passage that transformed you.

The winning stories will be published in a special anthology, to be announced on International Women’s Day, March 8th, 2026. 👉 Find out more and enter here:

And here’s a short glimpse of the evening with the shared singing of Crowded table led so beautifully by Izzy Wolff.