Sean O'Casey stormed the citadel of English cultural imperialism in his native Ireland with powerhouse plays promoting Irish nationalism. Born and bred in the Dublin slums, illiterate until the age of 14, and a self-taught reader, writer, and theater-goer, O'Casey maintained a strong bias towards the

Dark, Feminist, Gritty, Irish renaissance, Lyrical, Political

Paula Vogel has reaped success from risk, taking on controversial subjects such as AIDS (notably in 'The Baltimore Waltz,' for which she won an Obie in 1992), gay parenting, pornography, and prostitution. It seems unlikely, but it was her most controversial subject matter that brought her the most ma

Contemporary plays, Feminist, Feminist theater, Gay/lesbian theater, Intimate, Layered, Political, Queer, Self-reflection, Sophisticated, Witty

According to some, "the voice of a generation" echoes through the pen of playwright Wendy Wasserstein. More specifically, her plume speaks for the generation of women who were first caught up in the women's liberation movement. Too educated and too driven to be satisfied as housewives and mothers, th

Contemporary plays, Feminist, Feminist theater, Ironic, Jewish theater, Neurotic, Witty

In her poetical, feminist tracts, French Lacanian theorist Luce Irigaray imagines the female genitalia as a second set of lips, a second mouth if you will, a second means of communication. Playwright and monologist Eve Ensler has certainly taken that proposition to heart in her most performed work to

Feminist, Feminist theater, In-your-face, Political, Solo performance