Book Review

Title: Re: Producing Women’s Dramatic History

Author: D.A. Hadfield

Publisher: Talon Books

Released: 2007

Number of Pages: 288

ISBN:978-0-88922-563-3

$24.95 CDN/$24.95 US 

3 Stars 

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey 

Re: Producing Women’s Dramatic History, is a retracing of Canadian women’s dramatic history in Toronto, between the late 80s and the early 90s, in which D.A. Hadfield dissects the politics behind the plays staged by female playwrights. I was mislead! My assumptions of this book were that it would showcase women in theatre, women producing theatre, women acting in theatre and women writing for theatre.  

When Hadfield says politics, she means it. This dissertation turning incredibly dry read is a textbook of early feminist thought towards Canadian theatre during a plucked time in history. Dissertations are essentially microscopic analysis of greater theories (as the greater theories have already been exhaustedly discussed), so Hadfield’s dissertation stands up to the reputation of the literary cadenza.  

Re: Producing Women’s Dramatic History takes us back to the acknowledged general belief that women had a muted voice in history and so it is for women in Canadian theatre, particularly female playwrights. However, can this perspective still hold up when we are discussing a few decades ago? Hadfield believes so. 

Although Hadfield’s theories hold up and are amply, amply, amply cited (another pitfall of reading a dissertation; all those footnotes!) this book will appeal to a very limited audience, in particular, those within the field. As even someone who takes avid interest in the theatre and female playwrights as myself, I found this a laborious read most of the time.  

At times Hadfield’s arguments feel strained and out of context, and simply focussing on the pitfalls and dark alleys of Toronto theatre at the end of the last century, as opposed to a broader perspective and jubilation at the progresses female playwrights have made. Indeed, Canadian theatre did start to find strong female playwrights and with resounding successes as Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie Macdonald, women can feel they have made a step towards the right direction from page to stage.  

I believe Hadfield has some valid points that will be well discussed within a select group of individuals, such as in Women Studies courses and ‘Women in Drama’ courses in campuses across Canada. I simply wish Hadfield had made some transition from dissertation to published book, so that it could be an interesting and informative read for a larger audience.