In 1928 the students of Newnham College, Cambridge – one of only two colleges at that university which then admitted women – had few advantages. Compared to the male-dominated splendour of the rest of the university, their resources were modest, something that showed in everything from the food they ate to the books they were able to consult. Worst of all, although they could sit the same exams as their male peers, they could not be awarded degrees. Women would not be admitted as full members of the university until 1948.
Not everything was dismal for the women of Newnham in 1928, however. In October that year, Virginia Woolf came to address them on the subject of “Women and Fiction” and they were witness to a crucial moment in the history of women’s creativity and freedom. They watched as this intelligent, articulate woman, who was already the author of several acclaimed novels, stared injustice full in the face and said: no more. Now, thanks to a new theatrical adaptation of Woolf’s work, we are able imaginatively to sit where they sat and see what they saw.
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