Votes for Women
Zoe Tapper and Samuel West star in Elizabeth Robins's play, first performed in 1907 and written to support the cause of women's suffrage.
Zoe Tapper and Samuel West star in Elizabeth Robins's play, first performed in 1907 and written to support the cause of women's suffrage.
Admired Conservative MP Geoffrey Stonor is relishing his engagement to the ebullient young heiress Jean Dunbarton until a chance encounter with the charismatic Vida Levering, an advocate of women's suffrage, appears to threaten them both - not just politically, but personally too.
Produced and directed by Marion Nancarrow
Votes for Women is a suffragette play, originally performed in 1907 at the Court Theatre (now the Royal Court), which remains both modern and surprisingly controversial. Writer Elizabeth Robins, an American actress, was hugely admired by London audiences at the time, most notably for her performance as Hedda Gabler. A philanthropist and doyenne of the literati, she was also famed for having pulled a gun on George Bernard Shaw when he made a pass at her! Votes for Women was originally written as a novel - Robins having done her research by interviewing women about their lives (this forms the middle of the play, set at a rally in Trafalgar Square). It was turned into a play when the suffragette movement realised the power of theatre to affect public opinion and, shortly after its run in London, Robins was instrumental in setting up the Actresses' Franchise League.
Last on
What has the theatre ever done for women?
A Night Waves discussion on the changing role of women, as reflected in the theatre.
Marion Nancarrow blogs about the 1907 feminist play she brings to Radio 3 this weekend.
Clips
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Director Marion Nancarrow on the Actresses Franchise League
Duration: 00:48
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Preview clip of Votes for Women
Duration: 01:22
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Writer | Elizabeth Robins |
Vida Levering | Zoe Tapper |
Geoffrey Stonor | Samuel West |
Jean Dunbarton | Charity Wakefield |
Lady John | Sylvestra Le Touzel |
Lord John | Michael Bertenshaw |
Farnborough | Jolyon Coy |
Mrs Freddy | Philippa Stanton |
Lydia Heriot/Working Woman | Joanna Brookes |
St John Greatorex | Sean Murray |
Ernestine Blunt | Emerald O'Hanrahan |
Mr Pilcher | Ben Crowe |
Director | Marion Nancarrow |
Producer | Marion Nancarrow |
Broadcasts
- Sun 15 Sep 2013 20:30成人快手 Radio 3
- Sun 27 Dec 2015 21:00成人快手 Radio 3