Lisa Dillon as Moll Cutpurse in the RSC's Roaring Girl

Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton's The Roaring Girl is one of a trio of plays running at the Swan Theatre which have great parts for women and I was with @Polyg when she tweeted that she wanted to be Lisa Dillon who plays protagonist Moll Cutpurse.

Director Jo Davies' production is fast, loud and brash with music accompaniment coming from electric guitars, drums and a double base. The plot involves an almost dizzying number of characters and storylines. All centred around affairs of the heart, entrapment and duplicity with both sexes behaving badly.

However, through it all there is Moll. A tobacco-smoking, male-attire wearing woman who can look after herself. She lives by her wit, acumen and occasionally nifty fight moves in order to maintain her independence in a man's world. She has a reputation as a pick-pocket and her choice of dress and lifestyle leads many to the conclusion that she is loose woman. The irony is that despite her methods she isn't what she seems and is often the better person.