* An exploration of the creative explosion that occurred when the campaign for the vote brought together the talents of so many female writers and artists at the start of the 20th century. * An overview of the artists, designers, writers and actors involved in the long campaign for women's suffrage. * Originally published to coincide with a major exhibition on the Suffragettes in 2010. Writers and artists included: Cicely Hamilton, Chris St. John, Inez Bensusan, Elizabeth Robins, Ernestine Mills, Pamela Colman Smith, Mary Lowndes, Emily Ford and Sylvia Pankhurst.

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'.

Since 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...

The Plays Libration by Lluisa Cunill (Spain): A mysterious, intense and comic two-hander about two women who meet in a city park at night. The End Of The Dream Season by Miriam Kainy (Israel): A woman doctor outwits her friends and relations to retain her inheritance. Harsh Angel by Maria Avraamidou (Cyprus): A gentle Chekhovian tale of a family torn by the partition of their native land. Mephisto adapted from the novel by Klaus Mann/ Ariane Mnouchkine (France/Germany): The story of a German actor who sells his soul to Nazi ideology. Also a feature film.

A play collection with an introduction by Afia Nkrumah and bibliography by Susan Croft Featuring five works by prominent Black and Asian playwrights. Harvest by Manjula Padmanabhan | Under their Influence by Wayne Buchanan | Calcutta Kosher by Shelley Silas | Made in England by Parv Bancil | Brother to Brother by Michael McMillan These five plays in this collection each give us a glimpse of a different world - from the poverty of a Bombay tenement in Harvest by Manjula Padmanabhan to the world of rock and pop in Made in England by Parv Bancil, from the fading grandeur of former wealth in Calcutta Kosher by Shelley Silas to the inside of a mental institution in Under their Influence by Wayne Buchanan and many voices collide in the tales from the city in Brother to Brother by Michael McMillan. Some of these plays have been commended by critics and won awards, going on tour nationally. A few have been broadcast or adapted for film. By publishing these texts, we aim to inspire further productions, perhaps in venues where little or no work by black and Asian writers has previously been performed. In addition, the book includes a unique list of published plays by black and Asian writers, compiled by Susan Croft, so that those looking for plays to study or perform can access the considerable body of work that now exists in libraries, bookshops and archives.

An important new student source book for colleges, universities, and libraries, this is an anthology of the best short plays by female dramatists concerning woman suffrage. Launched in conjunction with "Classic Plays by Women."

The astonishing women involved in the Actresses Franchise League set up their own theatre companies and engaged with the battle for the vote by writing and performing campaigning plays all over the country. They launched themselves onto the political stage with their satirical plays, sketches and monologues whilst at the same time challenging the staid conventions of the Edwardian Theatre of the day. The legacy of their inspiring work to change both theatre and society has survived in the political theatre, agit-prop and verbatim theatre we know today.