Kitty Clive was the most famous singer-actress of the mid- eighteenth century and sought after by the managers of Drury Lane theatre. Composers such as Pepusch, Arne and Handel composed arias specifically for her and she even collaborated with them on rewriting music to make it fit her style and persona, leading and creating new forms of English musical theatre.

Clive championed women’s rights at the playhouse throughout her career, defined her own image and, after her voice started to change in older age, she reimagined herself as the first female comedian.

A semi-staged performance with music by Handel, Pepusch and Arne.