Throughout April, Ghostlight Ensemble will present plays by historically overlooked female playwrights as part of For Your (Re)Consideration. Each Sunday a new reading will take place and be available to stream for at least a week afterward.

The Convent of Pleasure by Margaret Cavendish directed by Andrew Coopman is the first of the series.

Lady Happy has recently inherited a great wealth from her late father, Lord Futune, and though Madame Mediator encourages her to get married, the Lady has other plans. But while Monsieur Take-Pleasure and his man, Dick, along with the other men of the town make plans to woo her, Lady Happy has already opened her own convent: A Convent of Pleasure that avows marriage and men because they do nothing but bring misery to all womenkind. But when a mysterious Princess comes to join the Convent, Lady Happy finds herself falling for her, and their love story begins. Will there be a happy ending for these independent women? Or will men figure out a way to interfere and ruin this Sanctuary?

Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne’s closet-play, The Convent of Pleasure is a 17th Century celebration of women, independence and love, and one of the earliest narratives centered in LGBTQ+ inclusive identity.