Max, on women in theatre

12th Dec 2012

I was interested to read the Guardian’s report of research on women in our top ten subsidised theatres and in particular about female writers.

Out of Joint might not be in the top ten subsidised theatres in this country (though we have collaborated with a number of them). But our record is worth pointing to.

In 20 years, 15 of the 35 plays we have produced have been by women – that’s 43%. And our output from 2011 to 2013 will be exclusively by women writers.

Caryl Churchill once suggested to me that my own life, in terms of education received and other factors, was not fundamentally different to my grandfather’s; whereas hers, in contrast, was enormously different to her grandmother’s. Theatre is a powerful recorder of change, and theatre written by women – now and in the past – offers a particular and valuable perspective on the evolution of our society.