ABSTRACT
The Pioneer Players sprang from the women’s suffrage theatre movement and the Actresses’ Franchise League. They were led by Edith Craig, one of those figures, usually female or black, who have been underestimated or even ignored in history. The Pioneer Players set out to support women engaged in all aspects of theatre work, and the society itself put women in all posts of responsibility. Craig’s London flat served as the office, and there was a strong committee throughout the ten years of its existence. Ellen Terry was President, and others continually involved, besides Edith Craig herself, were St John, Gabrielle Enthoven and Olive Terry, an actress and cousin of Craig. The Committee was responsible to the paying membership, most of whom were women. In 1929, after her mother’s death, Edy Craig opened the Barn Theatre at her home in Small-hythe Place and organised annual performances in Ellen Terry’s memory.
