News
What we're reading...
Here we keep an eye on what is being said about the position of women in the performing arts in the media - we collate all the articles here with a link to the original article where possible. If you think we've missed an important story, please email us at info@sphinxtheatre.co.uk and we will include it!
We are also busy on Twitter, tweeting interesting articles. Follow us @sphinxtheatre
It's high time more women ran the arts
"Women in the arts have been in the news this week - but sadly not for the right reasons,."
Sarah Crompton, The Telegraph 30th March 2013
British arts and theatre: women's time in the spotlight has arrived
"Women are finally getting the chance to make a massive impact in the arts, argues the Observer's theatre critic."
Susannah Clapp, The Observer 24th March 2013
It's a Man's World...But why is sexism ingrained in the arts?
"Once again, the top jobs at two major British cultural institutions, the BBC and the Royal Opera House, have gone to male appointees."
Vanessa Thorpe, The Observer 24th March 2013
Where did the Real Women Go?
"The new leading lady is bold and brave. She’s also weird, obsessive and often deeply damaged. It’s a novel kind of misogyny and it’s taking over our screens."
Tanya Gold, The Sunday Times 10th February 2013
A Common Problem I see in Plays by Women
"As women we are taught to be reactive."
Melissa Hillman, Blog 21st January 2013
Women in Theatre: Stand Up
"It's a relief to know that what I regularly see – so few women on stage, so few plays written or directed by women – is not just me feeling left out. As the research published in the Guardian into the representation of women in British theatre proved: I am a woman and therefore I am left out. Yes, British theatre often leaves out anyone who is not white, male, middle class and able-bodied, but women are not a minority. When we leave women out of our casting, our programming, we doubly disadvantage women who are part of any minority..."
The Guardian - Stella Duffy 12 December 2012
Women in Theatre: How the 2:1 Problem Breaks Down
Breakdown of the Guardian Survey's statistics
The Guardian - Posted by Amy Sedghi, 10 December 2012
Women in Theatre: The Key Statistics
New research by the Guardian in collaboration with Elizabeth Freestone shows a troubling picture about the role of women in English theatre. Here's a summary of our most significant findings
The Guardian - 11 December 2012
Women in Theatre: Why do so few make it to the top?
In a special report, Charlotte Higgins asks leading figures why women are still underrepresented at every level of the business – and what needs to change
The Guardian - Charlotte Higgins 10 December 2012
Can an All Women Julius Caesar Work?
For Lloyd, the answer is a straightforward feminist one: she wishes, in a small way, to redress the gender imbalance that she sees around her every day in the theatre...
The Guardian - Charlotte Higgins 19 November 2012
Parade's End Director says Sexism is Still Rife in Drama World
Susanna White, who directed BBC2's costume drama hit, says TV is still plagued by sexism...
The Guardian - Maggie Brown 9/September/2012
Olympic Suffragettes Regroup for Women's Rights March on Parliament
London 2012 opening ceremony inspires performers to become modern-day activists and join UK Feminista in rights rally...
The Guardian - Alexandra Topping 19/August/2012
A Turning Point for Women in Dance
Women in dance have been most powerful during periods of transition – early modern dance, early 20th-century ballet, the new dance waves of 1960s New York and 1980s London. Perhaps in the 21st century we can hope for more visible – and lasting – success...
The Guardian - Judith Mackrell 19/August/2012
Why is Theatre so Male, White and Middle-Class?
Women need to see ourselves reflected on stage, and off it too. It's not just the number of roles available to women (although there is no reason why there shouldn't be an all-female company producing Shakespeare) that creates the imbalance, but the fact that British theatre remains predominantly male when it comes to writers and directors. But then it is also predominantly white and middle class too, and those are issues that urgently need addressing as much as gender imbalances. Only when they are will our stages reflect the real world...
The Guardian - Lyn Gardner 2/July/2012
Actors Union Rallies Theatres to Create More Roles for Women
Janet Suzman among high-profile thespians highlighting lack of opportunity that reflects wider imbalance in society. Janet Suzman is an actor who, by way of the RSC, has scaled the heights of the classical repertory, playing Shakespeare's women from Ophelia to Volumnia.
But it is a career that remains "really frustrating", she says, because "there aren't bloody well enough parts for women"...
The Guardian - Charlotte Higgins 29/June/2012
Gender Equality at Hampstead Theatre
There have been discussions in the media this week questioning Hampstead Theatre’s policy towards Gender Equality in our programming.
Hampstead Theatre does not, and has never, excluded women from its productions as a matter of policy...
Hampstead Theatre Response - 28/June/2012
The current season at Hampstead Theatre’s main stage shows little regard for female performers’ right to work or for actual women being represented. The theatre is currently showing Chariots of Fire, with a cast of 18 men and three women, and will then show the DruidMurphy trilogy, with 13 male and four female roles. This is to be followed by Shakespeare’s Henry V and The Winter’s Tale, both performed by an all-male company with no roles at all for women.
Hampstead Theatre is a subsidised theatre in receipt of public funding, and as such has a duty to respect equality and diversity...
The Stage - Edward Pleasance 28/June/2012
Being Ignored and the Suggestion of a Monstrous Regime
When we do not see ourselves on stage we are reminded, yet again, that the people running our world (count the women in the front benches if you are at all unsure) DO NOT NOTICE WHEN WE’RE NOT THERE. That they think men (and yes, white, middle class, middle aged, able-bodied men at that) are ALL we need to see. We are reminded they think that we women – who buy more than 70% of theatre tickets after all – are fine with seeing season after season of theatre (and films, and TV) written by men, about men. Or even (and this is where it gets really interesting) written by women about men. The young women playwrights currently in the ascendency have clearly noticed this, noticed that they are likely to be taken more seriously, that their work is more likely to be produced, if it’s about men. Just as the young women directors are directing plays about men. (It’s certainly a way to make sure you’re not lumped in the ‘women’s writing’/'women’s theatre’ ghetto. Sigh. Assuming it is possible to be in a ghetto made up of 52% of the population?!)...
Not Writing but Blogging - Stella Duffy 27/June/2012
Subsidised Theatres Have Too Few Female Roles
Actors' union finds male roles outnumber female roles by average of two to one in publicly funded companies...
The Guardian - Alexandra Topping 27/June/2012
No Equal Opportunities on Stage for our Female Actors
IT has come to our attention that the programming throughout the current season on the main stage at Hampstead Theatre shows little regard for female performers’ right to work or for actual women being represented...
Camden New Journal - Edward Pleasance 21/June/2012
Are Women Getting any Closer to Equality in Theatre?
Men still dominate the big jobs in performing arts. And I have noticed, shockingly, that female theatre students are still prone to cede to male classmates. But is change finally coming?...
The Guardian Blog - Claire Brennan 6/March/2012
Women on the Case: The New Winning Formula for Primetime TV Drama
Series like Call the Midwife and Scott & Bailey are attracting record audiences with a mix of strong female characters...
The Observer - Maggie Brown 25/February/2012
Female Playwrights Still Face Sexism - it's Time We admitted it
Research shows that theatres are prejudiced against female playwrights. What can be done about it?...
TheGuardian - Lyn Gardner 22/February/2012
Should our Society be Allowed to Celebrate its Historical Sexism?
Upon reading today that our glorious national treasure, Stephen Fry, is playing Malvolio in an all-male production of Twelfth Night at the Globe this summer, I faced an internal struggle....
Social Justice First - Jenni Tomlin 18/February/2012
Angela Rippon Criticises Low Pay for Women on Television
Angela Rippon, the veteran news reader, has criticised the BBC over the salaries paid to female presenters after it emerged the co-hosts of one of corporation's most popular shows earn just one fortieth of their counterparts on Match of the Day...
The Telegraph - Mathew Holehouse 13/February/2012
Mark Thompson: Not Enough Older Women on the BBC
Mark Thompson, the BBC director-general, has warned that the corporation does not have enough older women on television...
The Telegraph - Murray Wardrop 9/February/2012
I really welcome Jo Caird’s article (The Stage, January 19, page 10) challenging the industry to find ways to help raise more women into top jobs in the arts.
In a conversation with Arts Council England’s Barbara Matthews during Equity’s Annual Representative Conference last May I bemoaned the fact that the casting opportunities for actresses in the subsidised sector were woeful in comparison with actors...
The Stage - Jean Rogers 26/January/2012
Why Wait for Women's Position to Worsen?
As government budget cuts have a disproportionate effect on women and their career progression, Jo Caird asks what the industry must do to enable women to rise up to the top positions in the arts...
The Stage - Jo Caird 19/January/2012
Why Women in Radio are Starting to Talk Back
From awards ceremonies to drive-time presenters, radio is dominated by men. But not for much longer, writes one of the team behind the launch of Sound Women, a pressure group devoted to giving women a louder voice...
The Observer - Miranda Sawyer 30/October/2011
Fair Play: Should Gender Equality in Theatre be Mandatory?
Playwright Julia Pascal wants more women in top arts jobs - and believes it's up to Arts Council England to lead the revolution...
The Guardian Blog - Lalayn Baluch 6/October/2011
Women in Theatre: Let's Get Rid of the Equality Myth
Women are under-represented in theatre – not for lack of interest, but because the industry is failing to provide long-term support...
The Guardian Blog - Krystina Nellis 18/July/2011
-
Favourites
