She was the woman who changed everything. Before her, the English stage was a men-only club – boys playing girls, audiences roaring for comedy but never expecting a real woman to step into the light. And then she did. This podcast tells the story of the first actress on the English stage: the mystery, the daring, the scandal, the thrill of that moment when a woman, for the first time, crossed the boards and the audience gasped. It's a wander through Restoration London – the playhouses, the backrooms, the theatrical cut-and-thrust. On the way we meet the colourful characters who made that world sparkle. The managers, the rakes, the playwrights, the divas-to-be.

It’s a tale of courage, glamour, gossip and a little danger.

The night a woman walked onstage, she didn’t just perform.

She redefined the theatre.

And, in her way, she redefined England.