In Shelagh Stephenson's spiky comedy, Mary Astell and Virginia Woolf become celestial companions in the afterlife, sharing a sherry and discussing religion, science, and independence. Mary Astell, known as England's first feminist, is surprised to find herself knitting in this liminal space, which is neither purgatory nor heaven but a repository for women on the verge of being forgotten. The panelled walls of Amy Watts's set taper ominously into oblivion, highlighting the threat of being erased from history.
Virginia Woolf, whose place in the canon is secure, roams freely while Astell is shackled to a rope, evoking Lucky in Waiting for Godot. Their differences in attitude towards religion, science, and the centuries separating them create tension. Played by Phillippa Wilson and Tessa Parr, Astell is starchy and formal, while Woolf is expansive and lithe, making an amusing double act. In Karen Traynor's production, they find common ground in their instinct for independence, rejection of patriarchy, and love of laughter, not to mention a late-developing taste for sherry.
Where Sartre's No Exit suggested hell is other people, Astell and Woolf narrows down the devil to domineering men. Stephenson, whose play is the third in a "Cullercoats trilogy," rails against the silencing and abuse of women, identifying points of progress, battles still to be won, and sacrifices made by feminist pioneers. The play's conversational pleasures keep the production skipping along, though without underlying urgency, the direction of travel is slow to reveal itself. At Live theatre, Newcastle, until 6 June.
