How to Date a Feminist

How to Date a Feminist premiered at the Arcola Theatre in 2016, directed by Matthew Lloyd, designed by Carla Goodman and starring Tom Berish and Sarah Daykin. It has been performed all over the world, including productions in Istanbul, Gdansk, Mexico City, Shanghai, and several in Germany (translated by Silke Pfeiffer. 

You can buy the play text from Nick Hern Books, or as an e-book from Amazon.

"★★★★ Witty, slyly provocative and quite simply downright lovely"—Evening Standard

“★★★★ Genuine wit...a time-shifting narrative that keeps the audience on its toes"—Jewish Chronicle

"Fizzy and witty and smart, stuffed full of crackling lines"—The Stage

“★★★★ Spirited writing...sharp perception of the absurdities"—Libby Purves

“★★★★ If only more writers out there were like Samantha Ellis we wouldn't have to worry about rom coms dying out. Quirky, brave, truthful and clever...a must see"—London Box Office

Tom Berish & Sarah Daykin in the British premiere

“★★★★ Ellis zigzags back and forth with panache and Matthew Lloyd directs the dynamic duo of Sarah Daykin and Tom Berish with matching brio"—Jewish Renaissance

"You can't help but cheer on Ellis's blend of the caustic and the corny"—The Times

Mexican premiere at La Teatreria

"A whip-smart romp...wonderfully funny"—Exeunt

"Feelgood...entertaining"—Aleks Sierz

"Samantha Ellis's ingenious rom com fizzes with rib-tickling moments and razor-sharp dialogue"—Red

"Samantha Ellis’ sharply crafted script delivers an altogether less conventional take on the rom-com"—Hackney Citizen

Poster for Theatersommer in Ludwigsburg

"The acting is outstanding"—TLS

"Laugh out loud funny"—What's on Stage

"Marries an intelligent script, versatile actors and clever direction/staging to create a hilarious romantic comedy with a twist"—A Younger Theatre

"Full of love and laughs"—The Women's Room

"An anti-rom com"—Daniel Perks

"A must-see"—Your Coffee Break

"A humorous look at the hell of modern dating"—Cent Magazine

And some of the lovely things audiences said about it.

Here's me talking about it on BBC Woman's Hour.

Polish premiere at Theatre Wybrzeze

And on BBC Radio London (about 10 minutes in).


And an interview with John Nathan at the Jewish Chronicle.


A podcast I did with Judi Herman at Jewish Renaissance.


Here's a piece I wrote about writing a play that fails the Bechdel Test, but is (I hope!) still feminist.


And another, on how to write a feminist rom com (& my love of screwballs).

And one on feminist dating lessons I learned from rom coms.

And, on giving up Heathcliff.

Here's Carl Woodward interviewing me about the play.

Landestheater Württemberg-Hohenzollern Tübingen Reutlingen