One of the major aims of 17percent is to promote both new and existing plays by women.   

One of the ways we will do this is to hold an annual festival of women’s writing. This will showcase all sorts of work; plays that may have not been seen for a while, new plays, classic plays and there will be after-show talks and networking opportunities with a cup of tea and cake!

Monday: the Festival launches with a panel discussion: A history of women writers in the theatre. Today we showcase a play seen rarely in modern times: Elizabeth Inchbald’s, Lovers’ Vows, a Restoration comedy dealing with sex outside marriage and illegitimacy.

Tuesday: an educational event: making the break from Fringe to main stages. Scene-jam: a selection of scenes from women playwrights including Caryl Churchill, Marie Jones, Tanika Gupta, and others, showcasing the diversity of women’s writing in the UK.

Wednesday: a discussion of plays into film. The play is Shelagh Delaney’s A taste of honey. Questioning class, race, gender and sexual orientation in mid-twentieth century Britain, and part of the kitchen sink revolution, this play raises interesting questions as to whether the issues the play tackles are still relevant to a modern audience.

Thursday: a discussion, Is there a woman’s sensibility? The play is Phaedra’s Love by Sarah Kane, one of her less well-known pieces, an adaptation of a play by Seneca.

Friday: The whole day will be devoted to showcasing short plays by new British women writers, followed by a ‘wrap party’.

This is just our fantasy line-up of what the festival could include, email us if you’ve got suggestions of other plays that should be included or would like to be involved!