How Feminism Came into Being in British Theatre?

Drama is a way that is narrating people through the people. Since Ancient Greek times, this situation never changed, but women were not in this way, they could not find a place in drama at ancient times. Younger men were playing the women roles in theatres, so it can be said that the first censor of the theatre was about women. This was so hard for women because they could not find a voice in theatre. After hundred years, they could find a place in drama in the 20th century but anti-women traditions were still in charge. In short, women were despised in drama. However, in the 1960s Feminist Theatre started to show itself and women were able to find a way to make a good place for themselves in the theater. They succeeded with Feminist Movements, and women that were dominated in every stage of life, gained more freedom after the Feminist Movements this act was reflected in the theater also.

Women and men are generally associated with roles and characteristics and in Western and Britain cultures, men are the superior ones, on the other hand, women are the inferior ones also phallocentric thinking is on the top in these cultures. Feminism tries to challenge it and criticize gender-biased. Although these nations are giving civilization teachings to the world today, women have been in the second plan in Britain and all of Europe. Therefore, Feminism criticizes the male-dominated world and questions the inequality between men and women. At the end of the 19th century, the first waves of feminism started and the other waves came after it.

The second wave of feminism is special and it needs to be mentioned because this wave has a lot of impact on Britain and the British Theatre. In the 1960s, Britain was industrializing more and more and after the World Wars, men population decreased, therefore, it was time to take its place in society women. At that time, women were working in factories instead of men and 20th-century women became more visible in society than 19th century. For that reason, women gained more power and women took revenge for all time that they were in darkness. Also, this wave was ignited by some events like BBC’s propaganda. A lot of women entered harshly into the BBC News building for taking revenge because women were objectified by men in Britain at those times.  Although this event happened a lot of years ago, its impact can be seen nowadays Feminists raided the premiere of the Suffragette movie in London in 2015 because there was violence against women in this movie. 20th-century Feminists were ancestors of these women, they had to make these kinds of propaganda because Britain has been an oppressive society throughout history otherwise they would not speak loudly in this society. And the other Women’s Liberation Movements also helped the women to change the status of women in society, economy, and culture. It transformed the cornerstones of patriarchal society. In addition, after the censorship of theatre women writers and female actors were seen more. They could write about their situation, problems, needs, and goals. Women were passed thorny roads, and they took what they want at the end of the road. After a lot of changes in society Feminist theatre came into being in Britain. 

When the conditions changed a little, women gained a place in the art that best describes human beings. The irony of the absence of women in the art that tells about humans was demolished after the second wave of feminism.