“You Can’t Be What You Can’t See” – An exploration into the underrepresentation of female theatre practitioners within the Scottish Higher and Advanced Higher Drama courses and the subsequent effects this has upon the theatre industry
Abstract
This research project contextualises the underrepresentation of female theatre
practitioners recommended within the Scottish Higher and Advanced Higher Drama
curriculum, with the contemporary representation of women within the British theatre
industry. Although gender and womanhood are contentious topics, for the purposes of
this thesis, the researcher has defined the terms ‘female’ and ‘woman/women’ as the
identification of any theatre practitioner, writer or character who chooses to identify/ is
identified as female. In order to successfully execute this research, an interdisciplinary
research design was adopted. This design consisted of a review of academic literature
in relation to the standards and requirements of the Curriculum for Excellence and also
the historical and present underrepresentation of women within the British theatre
industry. Furthermore, qualitative data collection methods were employed; namely an
online survey distributed amongst Drama teachers in the Central Belt of Scotland and a
further two interviews with Edinburgh Drama teachers. From these research methods
primary testimony was gathered which subsequently supported the contents of the
academic literature review undertaken. The testimony of Drama teachers in Edinburgh,
the Lothians and Fife provided the professional framework needed to contextualise this
undergraduate study within Scottish education. From, the research findings, it was
evident that the recommendations made by the Scottish exam board (SQA) for the
Higher and Advanced Higher Drama courses are gender biased and thus reflect the
literary canon. Furthermore, from the research undertaken within this thesis, it is
indisputable that the underrepresentation of female theatre practitioners also reflects the
present gender imbalance within the British theatre industry. It is therefore suggested
that further academic and practical research is initiated in order to investigate this
inequality.