|
|
 |
| |
Mentioning the unmentionable
VAGINA MONOLOGUES
Etcetera Theatre
THE actresses seemed a little twitchy at first.
Maybe they found the Etcetera’s unyielding stage and the proximity of performer to spectator a touch daunting.
After all, women rarely speak publicly, even in jest, about the smell, hair, appearance and self-exploration of their, as one character puts it, “down there”.
It may have been 10 years ago that performer and feminist activist Eve Ensler premiered her collection of testimonies – which has now travelled to 119 countries – but the production still feels brave.
Germaine Greer, Maureen Lipman and Whoopie Goldberg have been among those to recite tales of clitoral nerve-endings, brutal forceps, intrusive smear tests, vagina workshops and the hand-held mirror.
The effort of volunteer charity Shams Development Organisation – who staged and performed this production – may lack the celebrity sparkle Ensler’s play has become accustomed to over the years but it is no less powerful, witty or prescriptive.
The Vagina Monologues has been commended as a cultural landmark.
It has also been criticised for espousing liberal western dogma.
The performers intermittently assemble to call for an end to genital mutilation or demand an apology and compensation for surviving Chinese “Comfort” Women, brutalised during the Second World War, from the Imperial Japanese Military.
A harrowing gang rape at the hands of soldiers is recalled in verse, titled My Vagina Was My Village.
An old lady’s reluctant account of flooding the seat of her date’s white Bel Air Cadillac and his disgust at her bodily fluid is injected with empathetic comic timing by Teresa Mock.
Other accounts, one woman who previously imagined her sexual organ was adorned with luxurious furniture, frankly recall casual flings enamoured by the damp, fleshy reality.
It’s stark political theatre, and judging by the source of the loudest guffaws, enjoyed by men as well as women.
Run complete
For further SDO performances go to www.vday.org/ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
