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Githa Sowerby's Rutherford and Son took the London theatre by storm in 1912. Following its triumphant run, the play toured to New York, was produced throughout England, and was translated and staged in multiple European locations. Yet Sowerby's initial theatrical success would not be repeated, despite her composition of additional plays performed over the following decade, and two more in the 1930s. With historical hindsight, we can see Sowerby's experience as comparable to that of many other women writers who struggled to achieve lasting recognition, especially when their work was perceived as critiquing the political, cultural, and economic forces restricting women's lives. With the acclaimed revival of Rutherford at the National Theatre in 1994, and the efforts by feminist scholars and theatre artists to rediscover the work of such forgotten women writers, Sowerby and her dramas have secured renewed interest. This Broadview edition will provide teachers, students, and artists with important historical contexts for Sowerby's dramas, and will demonstrate the ongoing cogency of these dynamic, insightful, and engaging plays.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Githa Sowerby: A Brief Chronology
A Note on the TextsRutherford and Son Introduction
Rutherford and Son: A Play in Three ActsA Man and Some Women Introduction
A Man and Some Women: A Play in Three ActsThe Stepmother Introduction
The Stepmother: A Play in a Prologue and Three ActsAppendix A: The Fabian Context
1. From Bernard Shaw, 'Preface to the 1908 Reprint,' Fabian Essays (1908)
2. From William Archer, 'Fabianism and the Drama,' The New Age (3-24 October 1908)
Appendix B: The Feminist Context
1. From Woman (26 September 1894)
2. From C. Morgan-Dockrell, 'Is the New Woman a Myth?,' The Humanitarian (January-June 1896)
3. From Arabella Kenealy, 'The Dignity of Love,' The Humanitarian (January-June 1896)
4. From Cicely Hamilton, Marriage as a Trade (1909)
Appendix C: The Economic Context
1. From Louise Creighton, 'The Employment of Educated Women,' The Nineteenth Century (November 1901)
2. From 'Statistics of Women's Employment,' The Review of Reviews (July 1905)
3. From M.[abel] A.[tkinson], The Economic Foundations of the Women's Movement (June 1914)
Appendix D: The Theatrical Context
1. Rutherford and Son: First Performance and Cast List
2. Rutherford and Son: Critical Reception
a. Phil Farnum, 'Fame in a Day'
b. 'A New Playwright: Remarkable Achievement by K.G. Sowerby,' Westminster Gazette (1 February 1912)
c. E.A. Baughan, 'A New Dramatist: 'Rutherford and Son' at the Court'
d. 'Miss Sowerby's Silence'
e. J.W., ''Rutherford and Son' at the Royal Court Theatre,' Westminster Gazette (1 February 1912)
f. 'Royal Court Theatre,' London Times (2 February 1912)
g. 'Our Point of View: Woman Wins,' The Vote (10 February 1912)
h. 'The Little Theatre,' London Times (19 March 1912)
i. R.P., 'A New Woman Playwright,' Votes for Women (29 March 1912)
j. From John Palmer, ''Rutherford and Son'' Saturday Review (30 March 1912)
k. C.N.B., ''Rutherford and Son' a Great Suffrage Play,' The Vote (20 July 1912)
l. From Emma Goldman, The Social Significance of the Modern Drama (1914)
3. G.S. Street, 'Licensing Note' for Githa Sowerby, 'A Man and Some Women' (13 October 1914)
4. A Man and Some Women: First Performance and Cast List
5. A Man and Some Women: Critical Reception
a. From 'New Plays at the Gaiety,' Manchester Courier (27 October 1914)
b. From 'New Play at the Gaiety,' Manchester Despatch (26 October 1914)
c. From H.[arold] B.[righouse], 'Gaiety Theatre: Two New Plays,' Manchester Guardian (27 October 1914)
d. From 'The Gaiety,' Manchester Weekly Times (1 November 1914)
e. From 'A Man and Some Women,' Sunday Chronicle (1 November 1914)
6. The Stepmother: First Performance and Cast List
7. The Stepmother Critical Reception
a. 'The Stepmother,' The Era (16 January 1924)
b. ''The Stepmother' by Ghita [sic] Sowerby,' Illustrated London News (26 January 1924)
c. 'The Stepmother'
d. E.A.B.[aughan], ''The Stepmother': New Drama Produced by The Play Actors'
e. S.R.L., 'The Stepmother,' Referee (20 January 1924)
Works Cited and Select Bibliography
