Monstrous Regiment: The Gendered Politics of Collaboration, Writing, and Authorship in the UK from the 1970s Onwards

Abstract

This chapter explores the evolving notion of writing and authorship in the work of the all-female collaborating theatre company Monstrous Regiment, looking particularly at the way in which authorship shifted between the process of making their first production, Scum: Death, Destruction and Dirty Washing (1976), scripted by Chris Bond and Claire Luckham, and Vinegar Tom (1976), scripted by Caryl Churchill. This chapter analyzes the ways in which Monstrous Regiment conceived of the writer’s role in their productions and the ways in which the politics of gender influenced their collaborative theatre-making processes. It examines the company’s work against the backdrop of the Women’s Movement in the UK in the 1970s with respect to gender politics and the emergence of the female voice through writing and collaboration.