About the Play:

Plays by Mediterranean Women is a ground-breaking collection of internationally renowned writers and dissident voices edited by Marion Baraitser. This is a collection of astonishing plays (many of which are in print for the first time) by women from countries geographically linked but politically divided; Translated from more than one language.

Twelve Women in a Cell by Nawal El Saadawi (Egypt): This penetrating autobiographical play tells the story of women of differing backgrounds and beliefs, imprisoned in the same cell in Egypt in 1980. Prostitutes and criminals are forced to wait on the political prisoners. The humanity, tenderness, and humour in this play reveal universal truths recognizable to all cultures. (Cast: 16 women, 4 men)

Libration by Lluisa Cunillé (Spain): A mysterious, intense and comic two-hander about two very different women who meet in a city park on a stormy night, under a moon that liberates as much as their see-saw and their relationship. (Cast: 2 women)

The End Of The Dream Season by Miriam Kainy (Israel): A woman doctor outwits her friends and relations to retain her inheritance. (Cast: 3 women, 3 men)

Harsh Angel by Maria Avraamidou (Cyprus): A gentle Chekhovian tale of a family torn by the partition of their native land. (Cast: 6 women, 2 men)

Mephisto by Ariane Mnouchkine adapted from the novel by Klaus Mann (France/Germany) and beautifully translated by playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker: Theatre, propaganda, and the demise of a nation. The rise of Nazism in Germany tests the stamina, ideology and morale of the members of a theatre company. Some resist, some are caught unawares, and some pay with their lives, as the Nazi Party acquires greater and greater power. In the face of uncertainty and fear, one of the company’s rising young actors chooses his career over his friends, sells his soul to Nazi ideology, and lives with the consequences. Where does art stop and life begin? The question is vital, and fatal to them all. (Cast: 9 women, 16 men; or 6 women, 9 men with doubling) "This sharp, sobering theatrical history lesson leaves no doubt: it could happen anywhere, anytime." — The Montreal Gazette

Veronica Franco, Courtesan and Poet by Dacia Maraini (Italy): Describes the life of a sixteenth century Venetian courtesan who turns her sexual servitude into poetry for her own pleasure. (Cast: 3 women, 2 men)

What people say:

"...a great opportunity for those who don't see much live theatre by women to know what they've been missing." — Everywoman Magazine

"The quality of the writing is consistently high and never less than gripping." — Writing in Education

About the Playwright:

Marion Baraitser is an award-winning British playwright, short story writer, translator, and editor. She took an M.A. in English Literature at Witwatersrand University, then worked as a teacher and journalist before settling in London. She was tutor in English Literature for Birkbeck Extramural Department, London University for many years and taught Creative Writing for Morley College, City Lit Institute, Women's Theatre Workshop. She lives in London.