UC Santa Cruz

It is essential to study works of subtle subversion that provide ways to celebrate marginalized groups within our communities. The Roaring Girl, by Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton, is a play about a real woman, Mary Frith/Moll Cutpurse, who lived in London during the 17th century and defied gender norms, even at the risk of incarceration. Critics argue that The Roaring Girl is flawed because it did not provide a strong enough pushback against puritanical laws. However, more attention should be paid to what was possible in Jacobean London in terms of seditious behavior against the ruling powers and how immortalizing a woman like Frith through a play was an act of subversion. By examining Mary Frith, the playwrights, the theatre, the players, as well as the play itself through practice-based research and archival research, a better understanding may be found on how modern theatremakers can create within the confines of an increasingly oppressive government.