In 1980 Emma Thompson and Sandi Toksvig, then undergraduates respectively at Newnham and Girton, brought Woman’s Hour to the ADC Theatre. Their all-female show was hailed as “punchy, fast-moving and fun” by Varsity’s reviewer. Toksvig and Thompson, both members of the Footlights, were joined by two other female comedians and the troupe of actors are pictured posing majestically for a poster.

The show consisted of a series of sketches poking fun at typical female behaviour (among other things) such as “the ridicule women bring upon themselves through their hang-ups about the size of their thighs”. While the reviewer’s commentary on the show was largely positive, they also considered the catastrophic effects of a show excluding men, suggesting that shows of this type might “isolate (women) from mainstream humour by leading us to think that women can only put on good shows about women”. However, this was clearly something the creators of Woman’s Hour sidestepped, as the reviewer kindly praised the show for managing “to avoid being aggressively feminist”. The show was a hit with Cambridge audiences: in the following Varsity issue a small note was published stating that “due to popular demand” Woman’s Hour would return as the ADC late show.

Since their days in Cambridge, both women have gone on to become household names with Toksvig hosting programmes such as QI and The Great British Bake Off, and Thompson starring in Nanny McPhee, Love Actually and Beauty and the Beast.  The legacy of Toksvig and Thompson’s all-female show still lives on in Cambridge – watch out for Comic Sans Men coming soon. Described as “a brand-new comedy hour…without a script or a man in sight”, this show certainly bears a resemblance to Toksvig and Thompson’s creation and it is clear that female comedy shows are as much a part of Cambridge’s theatre scene now as they were in the 1980s