Drama Queens of the Georgian Period: A tragi-comic entertainment

Sarah Burdett presents a series of dynamic addresses spoken / written by forgotten female theatre-makers of the Georgian period, granting unique insight into the gendered experiences and challenges of the theatrical profession.

What was life like for women in the Georgian theatre? What challenges did these women face in their efforts to thrive in a male-dominated arena, at a time when women’s place was considered to be in the home? How did women use the theatre to challenge and disrupt the period’s rigid sexual hierarchies? And to what extent do the experiences of these women speak to us today?

Drama Queens of the Georgian Period: A tragic-comic entertainment places centre stage the voices of female theatre-makers whose achievements have been all but erased from mainstream British histories. Via dynamic addresses, prologues and epilogues, originally written and/or spoken by women playwrights, performers and stage managers of the Georgian period, the show grants amusing, surprising and occasionally troubling insight into the uniquely gendered experiences encountered by women in Britain’s historical playhouse, and celebrates the female pioneers who championed woman’s right to public and professional careers.