Women on Stage: How Shocking!

For three nights only, a play about the pioneer women actresses who were the celebrities of Restoration London in seventeenth century.

In Shakespeare's plays, the women's roles were played by boy actors. In Puritan England, the idea of a woman acting on stage was considered scandalous. In fact theatres in general were considered immoral, and were banned within London's city walls. The royal family, however, adored theatre and their patronage kept the entertainment alive. During the Civil War, Cromwell's Puritan government closed theatres altogether from 1642 to 1660. Then, the  Stewart kings were restored to the throne, and the Restoration saw the rise of the actress on the London stage.

Playhouse Creatures tells the story of some of those early actresses, and the challenges they faced. The script by acclaimed British playwright April de Angelis ponders whether these women had an enviably privileged status in contemporary England, or whether they were manipulated by the men who ran the theatres. Did they have any power, or were they just pretty faces: playhouse creatures?

The show will be staged this weekend by long-standing amateur company The International Players in St Germain en Laye (78).

Playhouse Creatures
Friday 27 and Saturday 28 January 8.30 p.m.
Sunday 29 January 3 p.m
Salle des Arts, St Germain en Laye (78)