19:30, Thu 23rd – Sat 25th February 2023 at Howard Theatre, Downing College
Lent Week 5

Downing College Freshers' Play

"What would have happened had Shakespeare had a wonderfully gifted sister, called Judith, let us say...?" Virginia Woolf

Judith Shakespeare has one ambition: to be a playwright. When her debt-ridden father forces her into an engagement, she runs away with the help of dashing actor Ned Alleyn, hoping to join her brother in London. But when Judith arrives in the plague-stricken capital, she finds her brother gone, Ned engaged to another, and her play refused.

Judith and the players confront poverty in the midst of economic depression, in a society where women’s freedoms are curtailed, under a government confronting religious extremism in a climate of fear. Judith must choose between succumbing to social pressures, and following her dream, no matter what the cost.

This amateur production of “Shakespeare's Sister” is presented by arrangement with
Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk