Showing results by author "Jenny Landreth" in All Categories

Gillian lives with her 19-year-old daughter and 89-year-old mother, and life is a constant balancing act. Who is the chief dissenter among the three women who live noisily together under one roof: opinionated daughter, Chloe, very opinionated elderly mother Berenice, or the poor beleaguered Gillian in-between?

This is the story of amateur dramatics in Britain. In a triumphant mix of memoir, social history, interviews and manifesto, Jenny Landreth opens our eyes to am-dram and shows us a vibrant world that is a crucial part of our culture. Starting with the Mystery Plays of the Middle Ages, we move, via Shakespeare, to the Georgian aristocrats who built opulent private theatres in their own homes, then to the halcyon days of radical lefties taking political theatre to the streets and on to the present day.

These days, swimming may seem like the most egalitarian of pastimes, open to anyone with a swimsuit - but this wasn't always the case. In the 19th century, swimming was exclusively the domain of men, and access to pools was a luxury limited by class. Women were (barely) allowed to swim in the sea, as long as no men were around, but even into the 20th century they could be arrested and fined if they dared dive into a lake. It wasn't until the 1930s that women were finally granted equal access.