After playing to sold-out theatres last year, Maleny-based Wild Women Productions are finally bringing Eve Ensler's 'The Vagina Monologues' to Brisbane.
Enthused by positive responses on the Maleny season last year, producer-director Sally Lattin is renewing the monologues and keeping critical women’s issues front and centre. “'The Vagina Monologues' is one of my favourite plays and is, in a sense, every woman’s story,” she says. “I think it captures the heart of what I want to bring to theatre and the timing is perfect with International Women’s Day recently happening.”
Inspired by interviews with over 200 women worldwide, Eve Ensler’s play is a joyous and poignant celebration of women’s sexuality. The show has been staged internationally numerous times over the past twenty years since its conception in 1996. During rehearsals, Sally felt a weight of responsibility on her shoulders to do justice to past incarnations of the show. “I first saw it 15 years ago but never imagined I would be producing a version of it myself.”
Along with Valentines Day, February 14 marked V-Day, a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls inspired by Ensler’s play. The non-profit movement has raised millions for women's anti-violence groups and is a big reason why Sally feels compelled to shine a light on social injustices. “The show really speaks to audiences about women's issues like no other,” she says. “Violence against women has to stop and Ensler’s play has been a big proponent in getting that message out there. All over the world, there are anywhere upward of 200 productions of this play alone each year and all proceeds are donated to children and women that have been victims of domestic violence. I think it’s a brilliant example of the power of collective action.”
Initially Sally was unsure how the show would test with audiences in Maleny. Last year, she directed two performances in the hinterlands to see how they might be received and was completely blown away when the tickets sold out. “The material is a bit different and we didn’t know how it would play to audiences here so it was a bit of a gamble,” she says. “ But it sold out and some people missed tickets and really wanted to see it. All the actors loved playing their roles and this message is so important so we staged more shows and are now bringing it to Brisbane.”
Although obviously popular with the ladies, the monologues are not exclusive. Sally says there are guys in the crowd at each show. “The ones that I know have come have loved it. They don’t come out and talk about it necessarily but I think it’s an eye-opener for men. It’s not about pointing a finger at men. It’s about celebrating women’s resilience and strength, their hope and transformation, not about putting others down.”Sally has worked as a counsellor in South Australia helping disenfranchised communities such as street kids, abused women and children, Aboriginal and migrant women and the disabled. When she moved onto teaching and directing in community and professional theatre, she brought along all those stories she had heard into a broader context to educate an audience.
“Listening to difficult stories had its life. I needed to take a bigger approach to debunking myths about people who said violence against women wasn’t an issue. Theatre’s been a great tool to bring about social change and is recognised on a national and academic level.”
‘The Vagina Monologues’ will play at the Judith Wright Centre March 28-29.
