Sydney Reviews

Photos – Bob Seary

Both ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ sessions of Women, Power and Culture open with a monologue. The stage manager tells the audience that she doesn’t really know what feminism means now that we have supposedly achieved equality – and then goes on, pointedly, to list a number of horribly sexist things that happen in the world today, from genital mutilation of young girls in Africa to the continuing existence of the word ‘slut’.

It goes without saying that things are wrong and bad and should be condemned. Which is why I was surprised – horrified, almost offended – when in both showings, a few people in the audience laughed.

These things are not funny! I thought in my indignance. They are not funny at all! Why are you laughing?!

Then I thought about why we laugh at things. It’s often not because they’re at all humorous. We laugh to take the edge off things that are so profoundly serious that thinking about them almost hurts. Sometimes, we laugh because things are uncomfortable.

And that’s precisely what feminism does in the 21st century – now, when everything and everyone is presumed equal, so what are all you women complaining about, for heaven’s sake? A list like the one raised at the beginning of Women, Power and Culture is a profound reminder that not everything is as equal as we would like it to be. The continued existence – and the continued need for – feminism makes people uncomfortable.

And that’s precisely why we need more theatre like this. As Van Badham’s profoundly angry and profoundly awesome piece I Think The Interview Went Well, Mum in the 'Now' program reminds us, while the gender divide in writers is roughly equal, only 16% of mainstage theatre programmed in Australia is written by women. And it is certainly not for lack of talent. This production proves that.

That’s not to say that there’s not a variable level of quality. Of course there is. There are eleven short pieces presented across the two shows, and not all of them are wonderful. Personally, I enjoyed the theatre in the 'Now' program more than the 'Then' program, particularly Van Badham’s piece mentioned above and the hilarious Dreaming of a Kiss on a Pier by Suzie Miller, which brilliantly inverted the Bridget Jones-esque gal pal stereotype. Danielle Maas’s Country Matters: A Fragment was also incredibly engaging, and special mention must go to my favourite piece in the 'Then' program, Vanessa’s Bates’s wonderfully written monologue The Night We Lost Jenny. (Jane Phegan, who performed this piece, was the standout actor across both programs.)

I identify as a feminist. Very strongly. These two programs both resonated deeply for me – almost beyond the individual pieces of theatre that made them up. These programs gave a forum to and showcased some truly awesome voices in theatre. I’m not going to call them female voices, just as we wouldn’t call the works of male playwrights male voices. Women, Power and Culture proved that we have some truly excellent playwrights out there who are women. And their voices are ones that we need to see – and I want to see – on our stages. Not because they are women, but because they are great. And that shouldn’t make anyone uncomfortable.


New Theatre presents
Women, Power and Culture – Then and Now

Season Director Louise Fischer 

Venue: New Theatre | 542 King Street Newtown
Season Dates: 26 October – 5 November, 2011
Times: Tuesday – Saturday @8pm, Sunday @ 5pm
Tickets: $25 | ‘Then & Now’ Package (both sessions, booked in the same transaction) $40
Bookings: 1300 306 776 | www.mca-tix.com.au
Visit: www.newtheatre.org.au