Plays 1: Ripen Our Darkness / The Devil's Gateway / Masterpieces / Neaptide / Byrthrite

by Sarah Daniels

Ripen Our Darkness was the play that established Sarah Daniels as a writer.

The Devil's Gateway carries the flavour of life in Bethnal Green in the 1980s.

Masterpieces, Daniels' most controversial play is a radical take on the porn industry and caused outrage among critics - "The play has bite, anger and tenacity and many of its arguments are true…the supreme merit of Ms Daniels' combative work is that it makes me want to argue back."—Michael Billington, Guardian

Neaptide looks at lesbianism and prejudice - "A lacerating wit"—City Limits

Byrthrite is set in the 17th century, at the point when the role of the healer was taken over by the male profession of doctor, it examines the implications and dangers of reproductive technology - "Daniels puts her case with vigour and wit"—Financial Times

Genres: Plays, Theatre

432 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 1991

About the author

Sarah Daniels (born November 1956 in London [1]) is a British dramatist. She has been a prolific writer since her first professionally performed play, Ripen Our Darkness, was given a production at the Royal Court in 1981.

Reviews

[Charlie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars as a whole. Some of the plays were very good, such as The Devil's Gateway and Masterpieces. Others were pretty dry, such as Byrthrite, or too long, such as Neaptide. Having said that, she has some wonderful female characters and great social critique. I also like her dark sense of humour. It's a shame that many of the characters speak in a way which must have seemed dated even at the time. There are far too many 'darlings,' 'nincompoops,' etc. Comparing her dialogue to Caryl Churchill, who was writing at the same time and even earlier, Sarah Daniels definitely feels a little dated. Having said all that, I would definitely reread The Devil's Gateway and Masterpieces, and will probably be purchasing her second collection of plays from Amazon.

[Aaron Berlau · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting read! kind of slower than what i was expecting. a lot of her work was probably more impactful when it came out as opposed to now

[Avital · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a copy of "The Devil's Gateway" alone, but it does not appear as a single play here. Excellent, witty and socially conscious. Lower class people, especially women, in England, live their everyday life, an opportunity for interesting exchanges, while the fear of the bomb and the discovery of feminism link them all.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read Masterpieces and Neaptide for uni but both were really interesting and good for looking at feminist theory in theatre