Overview
Synopsis
It is 1896 and Girton College, home to the first female university students, has just opened its doors. Its principal, Mrs. Welsh, vows to steer the students through their education ,while passionately petitioning for their right to graduate like their male contemporaries. The group of new female students all come from varying backgrounds but they are bound by their belief that a woman is not solely limited to her place in the home. Facing entrenched chauvinism from the establishment, academic rejection and violent misogynistic riots, the women continue to push for Cambridge University to treat them as equals. Through their education in, and outside, the classroom, the women strive to prove that they are equal to their male contemporaries. While following social rules and etiquette, they pull away from Victorian notions of the ‘natural woman’ and passionately pursue their academic ambitions.
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Context
Jessica Swale’s Blue Stockings was developed at the National Theatre Studio (London) and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in 2012 and premiered at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre the following year. The play received favorable reviews from the critics and Jessica Swale received a nomination for the Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright award. In 2015, the play was included on the GCSE Drama syllabus in the UK.
_Editor’s Note: With the exception of Elizabeth Welsh and Tess, all
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Act One
It is 1896 and Girton College, Cambridge has just opened its doors. It is home to Britain’s first female university students. At the university, the eminent physician, Dr. Maudsley, is delivering a lecture based around his latest treatise, ‘Sex in Mind and in Education’. He warns the audience that educating women is a dangerous idea as they are governed by their reproductive functions and not designed for an intellectual life. However, at the same time, the principal of Girton
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Character Portrayals
See StageAgent members who have performed roles in Blue Stockings.
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher