Gender bias in theatre.

That's to assume Jess that all women think the same way and all men think the same way... Or that a man cannot have a feminine mind nor a woman a masculine. Actually the whole crux of the gender bias debate is flawed because it makes the assumption that sex and gender are the same thing. Why should the gender of the writer impact perspective anyway? Surely if it's a truly good play it's about hummanity not just the "secret" lives of men or women. As a case in point "The Big Picture" was recently performed by PTC and was by a female author, with three female leads and directed by a woman. Yet, as a man, the production still rang true because I was able to identify with the essential hummanity of the characters. Their gender was not so much of a concern as was how they reacted to their social situation. To me this is an exemplar of excellent writing. I'm not by any means arguing that you couldn't give a gendered reading of that play; you can give a gendered reading of any text. Essentially for me I don't give a rats about gender bias. I don't judge a play by the sex of it's author nor its protagonist. If it's a good play, then it's a good play. If it's an awful play, then it's an awful play. I also find it difficult to believe, given the somewhat liberal politics of theatre companies and the arts in general, that anyone would discriminate against a playwright based on their gender.