The English Literature Play

About the play

It’s London 1726, and Mrs. Tull’s got problems. The whores are giving her a hard time, a man in a dress is looking for a job, her husband has a roving eye and the apprentice boy keeps disappearing for ‘a wander’.

The play skips between the 18th century and 2001, where a group of wealthy gay men are preparing the drugs and video cameras for a sex party. The play is both an affectionate examination of the vitality and liberation of the molly house’s counterculture, and a regretful comment on the commodification of sex and love.

Mother Clap’s Molly House, a black comedy with songs, is a celebration of the diversity of human sexuality, an exploration of our need to form families and a fascinating insight into a hidden chapter in London’s history.

For the English Literature Play 2024, Mother Clap’s Molly House is being staged by a team led by fourth year English Literature student Conor O'Cuinn.

Meet the cast and crew on Instagram: @motherclapbedlam

About the English Literature Play Award

Each year the department of English Literature makes an award of up to £1000 to a literature student staging a live performance of a play text related to the English Literature degree programmes.

Previous productions include:

• Translations by Brian Friel at Bedlam Theatre, 2023
• Boys by Ella Hickson at Assembly Roxy, 2022
• Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker at Bedlam Theatre, 2018
• Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton at The Caves, 2011

If you're a student interested in applying for funding next year, keep an eye out for applications opening in autumn 2024.

Are you interested in studying with us?

We teach over 30 single and joint MA undergraduate honours programmes in English and Scottish Literature and a full range of taught and research-led postgraduate programmes, from one-year masters degrees to PhDs in English Literature and Creative Writing.

Find out more about English Literature at Edinburgh