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Act 1, Part 1

• The play opens in 1980s Britain with Marlene, the central character, entering a restaurant, ordering a bottle of wine, and greeting a number of guests who represent female historical and fictional figures.

• As the guests arrive, we learn that Marlene is celebrating a promotion, Isabella is a traveler, Lady Nijo is a Japanese courtesan turned wandering monk, and they are joined by Dull Gret and Pope Joan.

• The women comment on good works, low points in their lives, and the sort of clothes they have worn in the past while they share the first course of the meal.

Act 1, Part 2

• While Nijo and Isabella reminisce about their journeys and complete the main course, Pope Joan launches into the story of her life as a secretly female Pope.

• Joan held a powerful position as Pope and, unaware of how a woman's body functioned, she took one of...

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