The Year is 1669. After almost twenty years of Puritan rule that saw the suppression of Theatre, Music, dancing (and, well…anything fun!) King Charles the II, “The Merry Monarch,” has been restored to the throne. The theaters have reopened, and, thanks to the King, the prohibition against women appearing on stage has been lifted. For the first time in English history, women are now free to “strut and fret their hour upon the stage.” This leads to the rise of the English-speaking world’s first Actresses, who reach a level of stardom never reached by any of their male predecessors. PLAYHOUSE CREATURES offers a funny and moving view into the lives of five of these pioneering Restoration actresses at the forefront of the “Merry Monarch’s” new theatrical revolution. We see the precarious lot these women endured for the sake of their art. Part History, part raucous Restoration Comedy, part Ode to Women’s Rights, and all parts Love Letter to the Theatre, PLAYHOUSE CREATURES is a comic account full of humor and heart that will provoke plenty of thought, discussion and laughs.
Featuring; Jennifer Porter, Susan Jones Eberhart, Liliane Klein, Katie Beckvold, and Elisabeth Hardcastle.
Directed by Dana Packard
“Thoroughly entertaining.” –The Tribune
"With deliciously absurd extracts from the heroic repertory and frantic dressing-room scenes, the prevailing tone is comic, but you are not allowed to forget the gutter waiting to reclaim these glittering figures" –Independent on Sunday
"...flesh and blood heroines... you'll come away moved and inspired and with a few more female role models stamped firmly on your heart." –Time Out
"This is a play that exudes love of the trade from sawdust to the stars, as well as serving as a reminder of a turning point in Theatre history, when these women were regarded simultaneously as trailblazers, renegades and oddities akin to dancing bears” –The Guardian