Githa Sowerby: Three Plays: Rutherford and Son, A Man and Some Women, The Stepmother - Softcover

Githa Sowerby (author) & J. Ellen Gainor (editor)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1554811856 ISBN 13: 9781554811854

Publisher: Broadview Press, 2021

Synopsis

Githa Sowerby’s Rutherford and Son took the London theatre by storm in 1912. Following its triumphant run, the play toured to New York, was produced throughout England, and was translated and staged in multiple European locations. Yet Sowerby’s initial theatrical success would not be repeated. With historical hindsight, we can see Sowerby’s experience as comparable to that of many other women writers who struggled to achieve lasting recognition, especially when their work was perceived as critiquing the forces restricting women’s lives. These vivid domestic dramas explore timely questions of capitalism, feminism, and personal freedom.

With the acclaimed revival of Rutherford at the National Theatre in 1994, and with the efforts by feminist scholars and theatre artists to rediscover the work of such forgotten women writers, Sowerby and her dramas have secured renewed interest. This edition gathers Rutherford and Son, its companion piece A Man and Some Women, and the postwar play The Stepmother. The edition will provide teachers, students, and artists with important historical contexts for Sowerby’s dramas and will demonstrate the ongoing cogency of these dynamic, insightful, and engaging plays.

About this title

About the Author

J. Ellen Gainor is Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University.

From the Back Cover

Githa Sowerby's Rutherford and Son took the London theatre by storm in 1912. Following its triumphant run, the play toured to New York, was produced throughout England, and was translated and staged in multiple European locations. Yet Sowerby's initial theatrical success would not be repeated. With historical hindsight, we can see Sowerby's experience as comparable to that of many other women writers who struggled to achieve lasting recognition, especially when their work was perceived as critiquing the forces restricting women's lives. These vivid domestic dramas explore timely questions of capitalism, feminism, and personal freedom.

With the acclaimed revival of Rutherford at the National Theatre in 1994, and with the efforts by feminist scholars and theatre artists to rediscover the work of such forgotten women writers, Sowerby and her dramas have secured renewed interest. This edition gathers Rutherford and Son, its companion piece A Man and Some Women, and the postwar play The Stepmother. The edition will provide teachers, students, and artists with important historical contexts for Sowerby's dramas and will demonstrate the ongoing cogency of these dynamic, insightful, and engaging plays.

Edition details

• Publisher: Broadview Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1554811856
• ISBN 13: 9781554811854
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400