A collection of wide-ranging and ambitious short plays reflecting the complexities of women and political power in the United Kingdom.

The four plays published here look back to the moments in history when women possessed – or achieved – power, and what they did with it.

The Milliner and the Weaver by Marie Jones
Henrietta from Belfast and Elspeth from Dublin are unlikely comrades. The Suffragette movement binds them together, but as the question of Home Rule divides Ireland, will national politi tear them apart?

The Lioness by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Elizabeth I described herself as Queen, King and Prince, thriving in a male world, and saving the country from debt and wars. Self-proclaimed wife and mother to England, her virgin status was part of her myth, as she consistently refused marriage, citing herself as already taken. Here we see Elizabeth as both a woman and a leader as she encounters John Knox, the ultimate misogynist, and Essex, her favourite.

Handbagged by Moira Buffini
For over a decade Margaret Thatcher met the Queen for a weekly audience. With all her previous Prime Ministers the Queen enjoyed a fairly informal relationship, but with Mrs Thatcher, things were different. Handbagged speculates on the relationship between these two very powerful and private women.

Bloody Wimmin by Lucy Kirkwood
The protests at Greenham Common were a political landmark of the eighties. But how much did Greenham impact on the fight for nuclear disarmament, the progress of the women's movement and the culture of protest itself?