The feminist bomb that changed Irish theatre forever

A decade on from the #WakingTheFeminists movement, two leaders of the campaign recall the spark that inspired change and how they had to tread carefully to avoid a split in the ranks

Lian Bell and actress Kate O’Toole at The Waking the Feminists public meeting at The Abbey Theatre in 2015. Photo: Colin O’Riordan

It’s difficult for people who do not closely follow Irish theatre to see what a momentous change the #Waking­TheFeminists campaign has made. In this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival, the two prime slots, the Abbey and the Gate main stages, both have new work written and directed by women: The Boy by Marina Carr at the Abbey and Poor , adapted by Sonya Kelly from Katriona O’Sullivan’s memoir, at the Gate.

Both institutions c

See Full Page