ACTING UP: The Rise of Women's Theater

by D.W. Foster, Susanna Centlivre, Aphra Behn

Published here for the first time are accurate, performance-ready scripts of comedies by Jane Cavendish, Aphra Behn, and Susanna Centlivre, together with a concise history of the women’s dramatic tradition from Anglo-Saxon “cunning women” through to the great flowering of women’s theatre in the Restoration period. The chapters on Cavendish, Behn, and Centlivre draw upon previously unpublished revelations from the UK National Archives, genealogical records, and their own correspondence, sweeping away much misinformation about their respective careers— mistakes and omissions found everywhere online and in print sources, including even the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. All primary texts have been edited in normalized spelling and punctuation, directly from the most authoritative manuscript or early printed text. This is the only edition of the play-scripts by Elizabeth Cary, Jane Cavendish, Aphra Behn, and Susanna Centlivre in which all prior substantive errors have been corrected, without mistaken speech prefixes and misplaced or omitted stage directions. The back-matter includes notes on the text, stage history, casting, and performance. Acting Up is a must-read for students and thespians with an interest in women’s theatre.

614 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 25, 2025