Women are in leading roles — on stage and off — with the new Surrey Drama Queens, set to launch with stagings of three "unique and powerful" one-act plays at Newton Cultural Centre on the weekend of Aug. 23-24.

The theatre company was created this year with goals of uplifting women in theatre by staging plays either written by women or directed by women, and featuring strong leading roles for women, with Juliet Napier and Kimberly Lawton in co-founding roles.

"Women are still underrepresented as playwrights and directors, so this company has an opportunity to bring underrepresented voices into the light," explained Lawton, a Cloverdale-area resident who writes and directs.

"Working with a theatre company solely focused on women leading in writing, directing, or starring, is artistically

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