Shakespeare has written roles for women of all ages. Beyond middle age, there are vivid roles for older women, especially in the History Plays, where many a Dowager Duchess proves as formidable as her younger counterparts.
As the Royal Shakespeare Company continues its Complete Works Season, we come to the next in our series on the Bard’s best supporting female roles. Judi Herman talks to some of the women who have performed the roles and to Pippa Guard, lecturer in Drama and English at the University of Greenwich.
