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Aphra Behn On The Contemporary Stage: Behn's Feminist Legacy And Woman-Directed Revivals Of The Rover, Nicole Elizabeth Stodard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study theorizes the origins and history of the professional female playwright and director from the Restoration period to the present day through the stage history of Behn's most popular play, The Rover. Part one is comprised of two chapters: the first in this section argues the importance of appreciating Behn's proto-directorial function in the Restoration theatre and her significance to the history of feminism and women in professional theatre; the second chapter in this section examines the implications of casting practices and venue changes to eighteenth-century revivals of Behn's canon with a particular eye towards what a contemporary director …