The Actresses Franchise League was an organisation founded in 1908 in support of the suffrage movement and ‘A Pageant of Great Women’ was one of many suffragette plays to be perfomed by this group.
With widespread support for suffrage within the acting profession, Winifred Mayo and Simé Seruya decided to bring these individual suffragette actresses together to form a movement with the end goal of getting women the vote. The AFL prided itself on retaining an independent stance between the peaceful lobbyists and the more outspoken and active suffragettes, famed for activities such as setting mail boxes on fire, although, even the founders were imprisoned for brief periods. With a starting membership of 400, the organisation grew until it reached around 900 members in 1914, including actresses such as Sybil Thorndike (known for her roles in Shakespearian plays) and Italia Conti (founder of the famous Italia Conti performing arts school).
The organisation undertook four main activities in order to gain support within the acting profession for women’s suffrage. This was through meetings, sale of literature, performing plays, and giving lectures on the topic of women’s emancipation. The plays performed by the organisation varied in tone but all served to highlight important issues within the suffragette movement. Some were comedies, such as How The Vote Was Won, that looked at the absurdities of not allowing women the vote, and others were more serious, such as Before Sunset by Bessie Hatton that focused on the impact of sexual ignorance towards women.
At the onset of the First World War, The Actresses Franchise League, like many suffragette organisations of the time, were forced to change tactics in order to help support the war effort. Despite the disbanding of the organisation in 1934, the AFL has been credited with gaining much support for the women’s vote and many of the plays they put on are still performed today.
