Published in 1980 at the height of Britain’s radical theatre movement, Strike While the Iron Is Hot gathers three politically charged plays exploring sexuality, feminism, and collective performance.

Drawn from experimental companies including the Gay Sweatshop, the Red Ladder Theatre Company, and the Women’s Theatre Group, the plays emerged from a period when theatre was used as a direct tool of political intervention. Rather than traditional stage drama, these works mix agit-prop, satire, and documentary elements to challenge the social conventions surrounding gender, sexuality, marriage, and power.

Edited and introduced by Michelene Wandor, the collection captures a moment when feminist and queer theatre were reshaping the British stage — rejecting the idea of neutral art in favour of performance that was explicitly social, confrontational, and communal.