The Roaring Girle

The most infamous woman you’ve never heard of is at the center of The Roaring Girle: Moll Cutpurse, a woman ahead of her time, and ours. Born in 1579 at Barbican Aldersgate Street and died of dropsy in 1650 at Fleet Street, Moll became 17th century London’s most notorious cross-dresser and “governess of the underworld”. Playwright Alice Tuan has brought Moll into the 21st century, freely adapting the original text by Middleton & Dekker into a quick-witted satire that takes place in a world where the days of the week have corporate sponsors, free speech costs a fortune, beauty is mandatory and theatre has been declared illegal. The plot includes plenty of Jacobean twists and turns – star crossed lovers, gallants out of cash, and hapless comic servants. Against this backdrop, Moll stages an insurgent performance of her forbidden “Show of Shows” rallying her fellow citizens into a roar against the authoritarian attitudes of the day.

The Foundry Theatre presents this world premiere. The show is directed by Foundry Artistic Director Melanie Joseph.