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The Outside

The Outside (1917) is the shortest and first non-comedic play by Susan Glaspell. It is a play in one act. She uses symbolism to convey the emptiness of Mrs. Patrick’s life on the outside. Glaspell uses the imagery of the station and the areas beyond to show that Mrs. Patrick is keeping herself away from the things she once knew. Glaspell’s use of symbolism aides the characters onstage as well as the audience in realizing the situation the women are facing. The play was first performed by the Provincetown Players at the Playwrights' Theatre, December 28, 1917. It was revived in 1997 and 2008 by the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, London. more »