Sheer silk to envelop the theatregoer

05 July 2025, The Tablet

Samira Wiley (left), with Nicola Hughes

Helen Murray

Samira Wiley is a superstar in a star ensemble.

Intimate Apparel
Donmar Warehouse, London

The American writer Alison Lurie (1926-2020) was best-known for campus novels (such as Foreign Affairs) providing a female/feminist counterpoint to those of David Lodge and Malcolm Bradbury. In 1981, though, Lurie published The Language of Clothes, analysing the social and political subtext of dress, including why Victorian women wore so many layers and male authority figures – in churches, courts and colleges – have favoured long flowing robes.

Get Instant Access

Continue Reading

Register for free to read this article in full

Subscribe for unlimited access

From just £37.50 quarterly

  Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
  Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login

Article end