Blue Stockings

A RABBLE-ROUSING CLASSIC AT THE GLOBE

Marking theatre director Jessica Swale's writing debut, Blue Stockings is an intelligent, thought-provoking work that brings experiment and adventure to the Globe, a theatre renowned for its traditional staging of Shakespeare's works. Set in University of Cambridge in 1896, it chronicles the struggles of young female students who are grudgingly allowed to attend classes but are forbidden to graduate and are refused degrees.

Theatre veteran John Dove, director of this vibrant comedy-drama, is well accustomed to the venue and emphasizes the bawdy-humor of the piece while accompanying music by acclaimed composer William Lyons is jaunty and at times reflective, perfectly capturing the highs and lows experienced by the female protagonists.

WHAT IS BLUE STOCKINGS ABOUT?

Girton College at Cambridge is the first college in Britain to admit women, where they study voraciously to match their fellow male students grade for grade. Unfortunately, their hunger for an education means these women must risk their reputation and become outcasts in a male-dominated world.

Tess, the chief protagonist, is a brilliant young astrophysics undergraduate, tormented by the fact that she must give up any hopes of a respectable life in order to become a scientist. The story follows the feisty Tess in her first year at the College while she studies, falls in love and deals with subsequent heartbreak. While Tess and her friends find their feet, Elizabeth Welsh, mistress of Girton, is determined to win the girls the right to graduate at all costs.