Aphra Behn
“All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn… for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.” Virginia Woolf
In this section, I will be profiling a number of UK-based female playwrights and theatre makers, who have been influential in the British theatre over the last 400 years. This is not an exhaustive survey, nor indeed an in-depth biography, but will aim to give a broad brushstrokes overview and an opportunity to inspire the reader to further research into these (sometimes) little-known, pioneering women.
I have chosen to start with Aphra Behn in the 1600s as she is acknowledged as being the first woman to make a living from writing, and I will be covering other historical periods from then to now. Just to re-iterate – this is not an exhaustive survey, and it will grow over time, but if there is a favourite writer missing, please send me some information on her, and I will add her to the section.
Writers:
1600 – Aphra Behn
1700s – Susannah Centlivre and Elizabeth Inchbald
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