Female playwrights still face sexism – it’s time we admitted it

Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2012

What would the playwriting landscape look like if all submissions to theatres were done anonymously, removing any question of gender bias? Or at least, when plays were sent out to be considered by reading committees, the title page was removed? Some theatres already operate in that way, most notably Liverpool's Playhouse and Everyman, where readers don't know whether the author is Alan Bennett or a first-time female playwright.

I raised the question a few nights ago when I chaired a panel of women writers, directors and producers at Theatre 503 following a performance by Agent 160 , a new writer-led women's company created by Lisa Parry and others in response to the lack of plays by women. We keep being told that women are about to storm our stages and there are certainly many more than there were 20 years ago, but the female playwright with an original main-stage play in performance is still the exception rather than the rule.

Click here to read the full article from the Guardian.....