Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

by Alanna Coby

In Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, a Connecticut Women for Life meeting is interrupted by a young mother who needs help. Elsewhere in history, a group of wealthy Londoners write a dictionary of slang so they can speak the unspeakable in front of their wives and daughters, and a New England tea party devolves into an intervention when the lady of the house must fire the indiscreet help. By mocking the myriad...

In Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, a Connecticut Women for Life meeting is interrupted by a young mother who needs help. Elsewhere in history, a group of wealthy Londoners write a dictionary of slang so they can speak the unspeakable in front of their wives and daughters, and a New England tea party devolves into an intervention when the lady of the house must fire the indiscreet help. By mocking the myriad ways in which coded language is used to harm women, Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is a satire that illuminates the connection between white supremacy and the abortion "debate" in the United States.

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Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

Recommended by

  • Kate Busselle: Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

    I had the distinct honor of reading this play as part of the Jane Chambers Award Committee 2022. All roles for femme women and great depictions of the challenges around women's issues both past and present. The playwright uses innovative conventions of jumping back and forth through time with the same actors in order to communicate the timelessness of the issues related to pregnancy, sex work, and sexual assault. The biting satire ends in complete chaos. In light of the overturning of Roe, this play is a must read and must produce!

    I had the distinct honor of reading this play as part of the Jane Chambers Award Committee 2022. All roles for femme women and great depictions of the challenges around women's issues both past and present. The playwright uses innovative conventions of jumping back and forth through time with the same actors in order to communicate the timelessness of the issues related to pregnancy, sex work, and sexual assault. The biting satire ends in complete chaos. In light of the overturning of Roe, this play is a must read and must produce!

  • Kyle J. McCloskey: Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

    An extraordinary play about white supremacy, complicity, language, and evolution of violence, Alanna crafts a time and space bending play PERFECT for the moment. This is one of the funniest plays I’ve ever encountered and I implore you all to give this wildly theatrical story the respect (and productions) it deserves. Produce this play!

    An extraordinary play about white supremacy, complicity, language, and evolution of violence, Alanna crafts a time and space bending play PERFECT for the moment. This is one of the funniest plays I’ve ever encountered and I implore you all to give this wildly theatrical story the respect (and productions) it deserves. Produce this play!

  • Abraham Johnson: Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

    This play. This PLAY! Vivid, gutsy, hilarious, dangerous, cerebral, and theatrical to the max, smart producers should jump at the chance to premiere this script. Coby's razor-sharp craft and rich dramaturgy are expertly buried underneath the bubbly theatrical worlds that the characters move through. The character dynamics, too, are studies in the brutal civility with which America's history of eugenics is (not) discussed. The power struggles between these women are SO visceral and SO immediate, and watching them unravel (especially in the 1820s Connecticut scene... I scream!!!!!!) is a...

    This play. This PLAY! Vivid, gutsy, hilarious, dangerous, cerebral, and theatrical to the max, smart producers should jump at the chance to premiere this script. Coby's razor-sharp craft and rich dramaturgy are expertly buried underneath the bubbly theatrical worlds that the characters move through. The character dynamics, too, are studies in the brutal civility with which America's history of eugenics is (not) discussed. The power struggles between these women are SO visceral and SO immediate, and watching them unravel (especially in the 1820s Connecticut scene... I scream!!!!!!) is a horrific delight. I'll be thinking about this play for years.

Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization Alliance Theater, Year 2022

Awards

  • Jane Chambers Award for Feminist Playwriting
    Semi-Finalist
  • Austin Film Festival
    Semi-Finalist
  • Princess Grace Awards
    Semi-Finalist
  • O'Neill National Playwrights Conference
    Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
    Semi-Finalist
    2021
  • Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition
    Alliance Theater
    Finalist
    2021