Pinballs and Boiling Frogs: An interview with Australian feminist playwright Alison Lyssa

Alison Lyssa, playwright, writer and poet, discusses her groundbreaking feminist play Pinball. Pinball, a play about a young lesbian couple fighting the patriarchy for custody of one of the women's son, was labelled 'feminist chauvinist piggery' in the Australian Press in the 80s when it was first performed. Now a set-text in universities in the UK and re-staged by Duck Duck Goose in 2014, Pinball and its playwright, Alison Lyssa, remain cutting edge in contemporary Australia. 

Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal: The Works of Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette Winterson is one of the UK's most beloved and challenging writers. This week, Stephanie and Michelle discuss Winterson's long career, from the publication of Oranges are Not the Only Fruit in 1985, to her recent (fabulously titled) memoir, Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?Wh

Netflix’s adaption of Atwood’s Alias Grace: It may be binge-worthy but is it rant-worthy?

Margaret Atwood's 1996 novel Alias Grace was recently made into a television adaptation, available on Netflix and starring Sarah Gadon as Grace Marks, and produced by Canadian actress Sarah Polley. This week, Stephanie, Michelle and Jimmy discuss the series, focusing on crime, feminism and ambiguous endings (and Stephanie rants a lot). 

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How Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea has Ruined Mr. Rochester Forever

Jean Rhys's lyrical, beautiful novel Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel of sorts to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, focusing on the story of Mr. Rochester's first wife. This week, Stephanie and Michelle discuss Jamaica, Jane Eyre, and how Jean Rhys ruined Mr. Rochester for them both forever. 

The Handmaid’s Tale : Offred the Unman of Atwood’s Dystopic Future or the woMan of Today’s Feminist Nightmare

On the eve of the new television adaptation, Stephanie and Michelle discuss Margaret Atwood's feminist classic, The Handmaid's Tale. Why does this novel, published in 1985 but rapidly rising up the bestseller lists in 2017, still continue to speak to us so urgently today?