Scribble Issue 8 Feminism Edition

The Theatre Profession – is I have been fortunate in my life to have carved out a successful career in theatre as a female. But during my time it is clear that like many other professional trades, theatre is an industry that has been historically saturated by men.

My passion for theatre began as a young child, when I auditioned for the primary school play and got cast as Gretel in ‘Hansel and Gretel’, then felt like I had won the lottery. I’ve always known the theatre industry to be incredibly competitive, where often only the most focused and driven succeed.

Moving on to study drama and eventually pursuing a professional acting career I began to realise I had something else against me, being a female in theatre. In my early career often the best parts in plays were for men, giving a very short queue in the audition line for the female roles.

During Shakespeare’s times all women were banned from the stage, with males playing all roles. The men also wrote and directed the plays while the women had specific expectations of keeping the house. As time went by this trend continued for many years. Even when female actors were permitted to grace the stage, it was expected that they were sensible, often mothers, sisters and supporting characters.

At the beginning of the 1900’s there were many great changes in the arts, encouraging more contemporary methodologies of theatre making. The two