Classic Plays by Women

This is an important new student source book for colleges, universities, and libraries. It is an anthology of the best plays by female dramatists from 1600-1980 in the United Kingdom. It was launched in conjunction with Votes for Women and Other Plays to celebrate one hundred years of Actresses' Franchise League in 2008.

Staged in theatres by successive generations and proving relevant to contemporary audiences, the plays demonstrate the wit, theatrical skill and innovation of their creators in exploring timeless topics from marriage, morality and money to class conflict, rage and sexual desire. An essential resource for students, playwrights, colleges, universities and libraries, this collection also provides theatres with the opportunity to programme a range of theatrical classics by women. 

Plays from: Hroswitha's Paphnutius (extract); Elizabeth Cary's The Tragedy of Mariam(extract); Aphra Behn's The Rover; Susanna Centlivre's A Bold Stroke For A Wife; Joanna Baillie's De Montfort; Githa Sowerby's Rutherford and Son; Enid Bagnold's The Chalk Garden, Caryl Churchill's Top Girls (extract); Marie Jones' Stones in his Pockets.