Nell Leyshon
It’s only taken 411 years but this month, Nell Leyshon’s play Bedlam premiered in Shakespeare’s house.
This is seen as a momentous breakthrough for female playwrights who have really making a strong statement over the last couple of years in England.
Here’s what Leyshon had to say:
They say you have to act like a man to succeed, and you do have to project confidence…We women do have a lot to learn, especially when it comes to expressing self-doubt. Playwriting is quite gladiatorial. The success or failure is public, and you can’t turn away from that.
And numbers matter. The more women see others as successful, the more they believe they can be successful too.
When you have women who do it, you get a build-up of self-belief.
Other women playwrights on the radar include:
Lucy Prebble, writer of Enron (which did well in England and bombed here in NYC)
Polly Stenham, writer of That Face
Moira Buffini, writer of Welcome to Thebes and the screenwriter of Tamara Drewe and the new adaptation of Jane Eyre.
All the Globe’s a stage – even for women writers (The Independent)
The Globe’s first female playwright (FT)
