Photo credit: Heather Mall
The Suffrage Plays
Artemisia, A Chicago Theatre
November 1-24, 2019
Performed at The Den | 1331 N Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago 60622
3 one acts about the U.K. Suffrage movement by Evelyn Glover and George Bernard Shaw
Reviews
“Shaw’s piece, imagining martial law being imposed as a response to demands for women’s suffrage, is supposed to be farce. A century or so past its premiere, it’s teetering toward realism. …Glover’s dialogue doesn’t wield the same blistering subversion as Shaw, but it is also of-the-moment. Director Beth Wolf’s switcheroo casting between Mrs. Chicky and Miss Appleyard gives Lucinda Johnston and Megan DeLay the chance to play both working- and upper-class women on opposite ends of the political spectrum. It’s a twist that serves both plays well. Brittani Yawn nicely captures the deceptively polite ruthlessness of a suffragette with more use for pistols than petticoats. And speaking of the latter: watch for Wolf’s brief but unmistakable examination of pockets (or more accurately, the lack thereof) as a tool of patriarchy. Like the rest of the production, it’s keen social commentary swaddled in humor.”
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Catey Sullivan, Chicago Reader, 11.06.2019
“Beth Wolf does a nice job of directing these three pieces of feminist theatre….The three one-act plays that make up Artemisia Theatre’s season opener revolve around women’s rights and the arguments for and against suffrage at the turn of the century. The comedies both educate, enlighten and certainly entertain….there’s much to learn about and enjoy in these three satisfying, seldom-produced plays.”
RECOMMENDED
Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review, 11.02.2019
“After watching “The Suffrage Plays”, I felt I had gained a clear political focus of that era in Britain a century ago, something often lacking in today’s political discourse, where the nation’s problems are supposed to be solved in 30-second sound bytes.”
RECOMMENDED
Julia W. Rath, Around the Town Chicago, 11.05.2019
“These three pithy, well performed, one-act plays directed by Beth Wolf and presented by Artemisia Theatre as “The Suffrage Plays” provide insight through a good deal of levity and snarky repartee that give voice to the debate that 100 years ago provided women with the right to vote….“The Suffrage Plays” will resonate with those interested in gender politics, those who see the parallel to current political discourse including Brexit, impeachment and immigration, as well as any who have never learned or who might have forgotten that many of the rights we enjoy today (on both sides of the pond) were obtained through significant struggle.”
RECOMMENDED
Reno Lovison, Chicago Theatre and Arts, 11.06.2019
Cast and Crew
Cast: Megan Delay, Ross Frawley, Lucinda Johnston, Tom McGrath, Vijay Sarathi, and Brittani Yawn, with understudies Olivia Gregorich, Jennifer Mohr, Marjorie Muller, and Josh Pennington
Production Staff: Beth Wolf (Director), Courtney Coppa (Stage Manager), Jinni Barak (Assistant Director), Becs Bartle (Lighting Design), Jillian Gryzlak (Set and Props Design), Scott Myers (Fight Direction), Rachel Sypniewski (Costume Design), Lindsay Tornquist (Dramaturg), Julie Proudfoot (Dialects, Artistic Director)
Beth Wolf 