Gems, (Iris) Pam(ela) (1925– )

English dramatist. She frequently portrays women as victims in worlds ruled by men. Her best-known plays include Dusa, Stas, Fish and Vi (1975), the feminist drama which first brought her public acclaim; Piaf (1978); and Camille (1984). She won an Olivier award for Stanley (1997).

Other works include The Danton Affair (1986), a musical stage adaptation of the 1930 film The Blue Angel (1991), Deborah's Daughter (1994), and translations such as Chekhov's The Seagull (1994).

Gems was born in Bransgore, Hampshire. She had written several radio and television scripts and stage plays before the mid-1970s, but made her name with Dusa, Stas, Fish and Vi, staged in London in 1975. A study of the lives of four contemporary women, it was hailed as a courageous piece of feminist drama.