The Edinburgh Seven were the first women to go to medical school in Scotland – and indeed the whole UK. But they faced discrimination from the University of Edinburgh, ridicule from male lecturers, criticism in some newspapers, and insults and even violence from male students.
Their story began in the 1860s long before women (or even most men) had the vote. In 1869 Sophia Jex-Blake applied to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Then in her late twenties, she had been born and educated in England. She lived for a while in the USA and applied to Harvard University for a place in their medical school, but her application was declined because she was a woman. On returning to England Jex-Blake wrote an essay, entitled ‘Medicine as a profession for women’ in which she argued that women should be given “a fair field and no favour” so that they could show they were not intellectually inferior to men.
Scotland had a reputation for having more enlightened attitudes to education which was why Jex-Blake applied to Edinburgh. Her application was accepted by the medical faculty and the Senate but rejected by the University’s Court on the grounds that it would not be acceptable for a woman to attend classes with male students, and that it was impractical to establish classes just for one woman.
Undaunted, Jex-Blake advertised for other women to join her in applying to the University. Four others did so, and the five women were allowed to take the matriculation exam. They all passed and were duly admitted to the University as the first female medical students at any British University. Before their first academic year ended, they were joined by two other women, and became known as ‘The Edinburgh Seven’.
After admitting the women, the University made life difficult for them by insisting they organise their own tuition and charging them much higher fees than their male counterparts. And their degrees were the subject of legal action with the court’s ruling that the women should never have been admitted to the medical school, and that therefore they were not eligible to graduate.
This is a passionate tribute to seven clever and brave trailblazers. The cast live up to their ambition to show “unity and strength” in telling the story of women who were called “hysterical” just because they wanted to serve as doctors.
There are three main roles: Sophia Jex-Blake (played by Poppy Kimitris) the Edinburgh Seven’s courageous leader; Isabel Thorne (Orsolya Haynes) who had suffered the death of her son and believed that a female doctor would have been more likely to save him; and Edith Pechey (Tatiana Kneale) who came top of the class in Chemistry and should have been awarded one of the Hope scholarships, but the awards went to male students who had all achieved lower grades than Pechey.
The other members of the Edinburgh Seven were Helen Evans (played by Elise Siddiqui); Mary Anderson (Molly Aitchison); Matilda Chaplin (Connie Gray) and Emily Bovell (Jess Payne). All seven actors play their part in an impressive team effort.
On 18th November 1870, as the women approached Surgeons’ Hall for an anatomy exam, they were confronted with an unruly mob of students who insulted them and pelted them with mud and rubbish. The gate leading to the Hall was slammed shut, preventing them from entering. This was the infamous Surgeons’ Hall riot.
This riot is recreated towards the end of the play. The director and actors create a dramatic and moving tableau of the women’s ordeal. Dramatically this is the best moment in the play.
The fifty minutes consists mainly of individual women speaking directly to the audience. In one scene the women briefly play the male students insulting them, amusingly imitating male body language. It would have been interesting to see the cast undertaking more male characterisations. This would have provided greater dramatic tension and prevented the play from sometimes feeling a bit like a lecture (albeit a good one).
The highly original and distinctive costumes, designed and made by Kodi Garriock and Kaiya Garrich, are not realistic period pieces, but are intended to help tell the story of each woman. For example, Isabel Thorne’s costume includes a veil, symbolising her grief for her lost child.
Writer and director Alice Banks has assembled an enthusiastic and talented cast of seven women – all of whom like the writer herself are students or recent graduates of the University of St Andrews. The play is well researched, and the story is clearly told. It was a pleasure to be part of a packed and receptive audience at the small Thistle Theatre.
‘The Edinburgh Seven’ runs until 24th August (not 18th). Tickets from https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/edinburgh-seven
Reviewer: Tom Scott
Reviewed: 14th August 2024
North West End UK Rating: