Sydney Reviews

Photos – Greg Piper

The Vagina Monologues started in 1996 and since then has gained momentum and become so much more than just a play based on women’s stories about their vaginas. Written by Eve Ensler after interviewing over 200 women, it was heralded by The New York Times as ‘probably the most important piece of political theatre of the last decade’. The Vagina Monologues went on to receive The Isabelle Stevenson Award at the 65th Tony Awards which celebrates humanitarian work done by individuals from the theatrical community. Added stories breathe new life into The Vagina Monologues each year and the iconic hit is now performed to audiences world-wide.

Ten women from The Lane Cove Theatre Company perform 17 of the monologues in the intimate setting of Northside Baptist Church in Crows Nest. Under the direction of Megan Spindle, the stories engage us with the feminine as we might never have seen it before and the vagina; beautiful, violent, sexy, awkward and gorgeous. There is much to celebrate and share about the vagina, its liberation both individual and collective. The play journeys through stories that will both make you laugh out loud with joy and humour and take you to dark places where brutality, shame and sorrow leave you feeling violated and fragile. The stories of rape, violence and humiliation are emotive and confronting especially when supported by statistics on genital mutilation and abuse. It is well balanced, you don’t forget the dark places, you keep them and think about on the way home but the comedy allows you to process both the light and the dark.

The stand out performance of the night was Belinda Humphries performing the monologue “The Woman Who Loved to make Vaginas Happy”. Her dynamic and hilarious manifestations of orgasmic moans had the crowd in stitches. She did not hold back and seemed to embody the woman behind each and every magnificent moan.  

It was hard to hear sometimes as the performers don’t use microphones. The staging was simple and the space was well used. The giant floral V used as a backdrop worked well and performers wore flowers to symbolise ‘the unique beauty and preciousness of women’.

For some the idea of sitting in a room full of strangers listening to stories about vaginas sounds embarrassing. However, these concerns are quickly dispelled as you get swept up in the celebration and strength of womanhood hearing stories that you will sympathise with, stories that are so far from your own and stories that feel like they could be yours. It is far from intrusive, it is liberating and empowering.

All the performers are worthy of the The Vagina Monologues legacy. In this world where gender is so hotly debated and equality is still a long way off this is play about women not about men. But both genders should come to laugh and cringe together and then after the show go home and talk some more about the mysterious and wonderful vagina.


Lane Cove Theatre Company presents
The Vagina Monologues
by Eve Ensler

Director Megan Spindler

Venue: Northside Baptist Church | 63 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest
Dates: 6 – 13 November, 2015
Bookings: www.trybooking.com