There are many Scottish women dramatists but few plays by women have been published and few have been performed more than once. The texts most widely available are not necessarily always the most challenging in terms of imaginative insight or of dramaturgical innovation: they are, simply, those deemed by the controllers of production to be the most ‘marketable’. Since the majority of publishers and of artistic directors is male (although the majority of theatregoers and performers is female) the dissemination of theatre pieces by women in the public arena is artificially restricted. I consider it important, therefore, to examine both unpublished and unperformed plays in the course of the chapter.

It is also important, albeit quite difficult, to avoid creating an alternative ‘canon’ in what is perforce a summary of Scottish women's achievements in playwriting over the last fifty years. It is for this reason that I have chosen to investigate the principal trends in women's writing for the theatre in the period rather than to take the easier course (perhaps) of providing a critical appraisal of the work of a select group of individual dramatists. I appreciate that, in the first place, my choice of ‘trends’ or ‘issues’ can only be subjective and secondly, that the inherent danger of this approach is that the distinctive creative individuality of each writer may become blurred. While subjectivity is unavoidable, I hope that by a judicious choice of topics, I shall obviate the latter.

The broad issues for discussion are, first, feminist re-visioning of history, of mythology and of existing literary and theatrical texts; secondly, the creation and definition of communities of women, including the significance of the concept of ‘sisterhood’, the nature of the bond between mothers and daughters, and that between lesbian women; thirdly, the exploration of Scottish national identity particularly with regard to its perceived impact on gender, stereotyping, sexual relationships and artistic expression and opportunity. The final sections deal with dramatic and theatrical language.

Revision of History, Literature and Legend