Description
Book SynopsisSince 1660 when actresses first began performing on the English stage, women have forged bright careers in theatre, while men called the shots. Four hundred years of women playwrights, from Aphra Behn to Caryl Churchill, yet plays by women make up less than a quarter of staged productions in the UK, leading to a scarcity of roles for women. With women buying most of the tickets, theatre productions risk losing their relevance to modern culture if they fail to represent the many and varied lives of women. With an overview of post-war theatre and 25 exclusive interviews with leading women theatre-makers, this book inspires us to create a truly equal and inclusive theatre today. Including interviews with: Nina Lee Aquino Sudha Buchar Moira Buffini Paule Constable Denise Gough Jill Greenhalgh Vicky Ireland Jude Kelly Bryony Lavery Rachel Maza Kumiko Mendl Katie Mitchell Marsha Norman Lynn Nottage Kate O'Donnell Winsome Pinnock Emma Rice Daryl Roth Jenny Sealey Saviana Stanescu Michelle Terry Kate Waters and more...
Trade Review"An inclusive and all-around eye-opening account of how theatre has changed...an enlightening path into the dazzling minds of these groundbreaking women." - The Broadway World; "As a publication, 50 Women in Theatre is comprehensive and a good thing to have, an important collection of talent around the world." -The Reviews Hub; Star rating: five stars - Musical Theatre Review; Fight for gender equality is harder than ever: Read The Stage; "Or how about celebrating achievement? Part of a series called '50 Women in ...', 50 Women in Theatre must have been good fun and rather satisfying to research and assemble. It consists, after a detailed introduction, of 50 short celebrations of the contributions made to theatre by women since 1945. And they are wonderfully diverse both in terms of who they are and what they've achieved. Thus we go from choreographer Gillian Lyne to producer Thelma Holt, director Jenny Sealey and voice guru Cicely Berry. Actors include Audra McDonald, Meera Syal, Glenda Jackson and Judi Dench, We also read about producers such as Nica Burns, actor/directors like Michelle Terry and playwrights including Moira Buffini and Bryony Lavery. Some of these accounts are written in the third person (Caryl Churchill, Sonia Friedman) not least because some of them are dead (Joan Littlewood, Jocelyn Herbert) or, presumably, preferred not to be interviewed. Others are presented as "in their own words" and written at greater length usually in a question and answer format. It's an attractive hard back book on shiny paper with lots of coloured photographs so it would make a good present." - Sardine Magazine, no.56
