In this interview I talk to Jenna Stones, one of the founders of DollsnRags Productions, a new feminist theatre company taking their debut show, Happy Ending Street to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Salvador: Firstly, could you tell me about how you set up DollsnRags?
Jenna Stones: It was co-founded by Lucia Ireland and I. Our creative journey took a pivotal turn after working with Two Halves Productions on Sweet FA at Tynecastle in 2024. That experience sparked a deep interest in female representation throughout history—particularly during a time when women found strength, leadership, and solidarity in football while men were away at war. When the war ended, their hard-won independence and collective identity were stripped away. The emotional truth in the story resonated deeply with us—and that connection continues to fuel our work.
Salvador: What is it you would like to bring to Edinburgh’s cultural scene?
Jenna: Edinburgh—rich with history, steeped in atmosphere, and at times seemingly frozen in time—is the perfect backdrop for our work. While tourists flock to castles, museums, and dungeons, we aim to draw them to the theatre, offering stories from Scotland’s past with women at the heart of the narrative. Our productions will feature work by female-identifying writers and be brought to life by teams of female-identifying directors, producers, performers, and technicians. It is estimated that only 5% of recorded history focuses on women, leaving countless stories lost — stories of those who defied systems, led revolutions, made scientific breakthroughs, or penned literary classics under male pseudonyms. We are committed to spotlighting these women, known and unknown, whose contributions have shaped our world.
Salvador: Could you tell me a little more about your debut production, Happy Ending Street?
Jenna: At its core, Happy Ending Street is a story about survival, sisterhood, and resistance. With biting humour and emotional honesty, it explores what it means to reclaim power in a world built for men. Through this play, we aim to offer audiences a raw, unapologetic look at the strength and solidarity of women who refuse to be forgotten. Set in a gritty corner of Scotland, the story follows three fierce and funny sex workers—Bonnie, Frances, and Pearl—whose lives are thrown into turmoil by a violent night-stalker known only as “The Hen Catcher.” Tired of living in fear and being ignored by a system that doesn’t protect them, the women decide to take matters into their own hands.
Salvador: How has being a feminist theatre company influenced your practice?
Jenna: In a world where women’s voices have long been sidelined, we see theatre as a powerful tool to reclaim space, challenge narratives, and amplify female experiences. This ethos is absolutely reflected in the work we create. Happy Ending Street, for example, is a story that centres on the strength and support women offer one another—through joy, grief, trauma, survival. These women lift each other up because, often, no one else will—certainly not those in power. That resilience and mutual care is deeply feminist. Much of our creative work is also informed by personal experiences. As women in our twenties, we’ve grown up in a society that objectifies our bodies from a young age. This instils a deep discomfort and even fear around embracing our own sexuality. That’s why it felt so important to create characters who are sexually confident and in control of their bodies—because too often, that confidence is misrepresented as dangerous, provocative, or immoral. We reject that notion. Owning your body is powerful. It’s feminist.
Salvador: Has the current political climate influenced and shifted your work?
Jenna: It has only intensified our need to make work that reflects our frustrations. So much of women’s anger is suppressed—dismissed as being “too emotional” or “irrational”—when, in reality, it’s entirely valid. Our creative choices—whether aesthetic, thematic, or structural—are often driven by that internalised and shared rage. It’s what inspired Happy Ending Street: a refusal to remain quiet, a refusal to let others make decisions for us. These women are angry, they’re raw, and they’re real—and that, to us, is the heart of feminist theatre. We believe more women should feel empowered to be unapologetically angry. Because that anger is not a weakness—it’s a form of resistance.
Salvador: How have you found working on this process? Has it been influenced by not having a director?
Jenna: There is no singular director guiding this piece. This was a deliberate choice. All three of us are experienced in devising theatre, and we wanted the creative process to be truly collaborative. By working as an ensemble, we’ve been able to build a strong, sister-like bond between the performers—one that prioritises authentic relationships over complex choreography. This collaborative approach has given us the freedom to explore what feels honest and real for our characters and the world they inhabit. That said, we are bringing in Stephanie Arsoska—a trained movement coordinator and ensemble theatre practitioner—to support us with several key scenes that involve more intricate movement. Her expertise will help us shape those moments while preserving the authenticity of our ensemble-driven process.
Salvador: What was it about this moment in history that drew you to this story?
Jenna: What truly pulled me into this period was learning about the Reformation and its attempts to “cleanse” the streets of sex workers. Women were forcibly removed, made to pray daily, and beg for forgiveness as part of a three-month process of so-called moral purification. This was a part of history I had never encountered before, and it made me wonder—how did these women feel? What were their thoughts on the Reformation, especially in a time when religion wielded fear as a tool for control? For me, history is a powerful tool—not just for learning, but for gratitude. In a time when our political climate feels increasingly unstable, looking back helps me appreciate how far we’ve come, and reminds me how fragile progress can be. History also offers a form of escape, a way to imaginatively step into another world and ask: What were their daily lives like? What did they wear? What did they believe? What made them laugh, or cry, or dream? Of course, I also recognise that history is rarely objective—it’s often just one person’s version of events. So while I grounded the story in 1890s Edinburgh, I didn’t let strict historical accuracy limit the storytelling. I used history as a framework, a kind of emotional and cultural backdrop, but gave myself the creative freedom to focus on the relationships between the women in the story. Researching this time period has been both enlightening and deeply enjoyable. We’ve had such fun in rehearsals sharing strange and fascinating facts about 19th-century Edinburgh.One of the most powerful discoveries throughout this process has been the importance of female friendships. Back then, women had no vote, no voice in government, and often little power within their own marriages. In a world that didn’t listen to them, friendships between women offered a space to be heard, to be themselves, to be free. That sense of solidarity and safety is something that still resonates today—it’s timeless, and it’s a feeling we all know.
DollsnRags debut production, Happy Ending Street, will premiere at Edinburgh Fringe 2025 from August 1-9 at Leith Arches (Venue 324). Times may vary. Tickets at: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/happy-ending-street?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAac72fOMgVOsK_nZHcwDXp2CMiIVvhnnBWMqSyOvBoz-I0ore7O8P_FXXqUgxQ_aem__nbxWUuEVD637OFvgBHUQA
Image by Charlotte Cullen, via DollsnRags