Gillian English hits the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, presenting 'She Wolf' for MICF audiences for the very first time.
Directly from the COVID-safe jurisdiction of Tasmania comes this show from the same performer that brought audiences 'Giant And Angry' and '10 Things I Hate About Taming Of The Shrew'.
'She Wolf' sees Canadian comedian Gillian English playing Queen Margaret Of Anjou, who, though a real person, was misrepresented in four of Shakespeare's history plays. It's time to examine Margaret's real life story and put a magnifying glass to the way society treats powerful women.
Here, Gillian tells us five things attendees have said to her after witnessing 'She Wolf'.
One
“I learned so much!” Yay! I love that people learn things at my show! Think of 'She Wolf' as a profanity-laden TED Talk, done in character with interjections of Shakespearean monologues. You’ll laugh, you’ll learn heaps!Two
“Do you think we should stop teaching Shakespeare?” I do not think schools should stop teaching Shakespeare. I do however, think he should be taught in context. I do not believe he should be portrayed as the end all and be all of literature, and I think equal time should be given to other, traditionally marginalised voices. Literature and theatre did not peak 600 years ago, there’s so many more crazy stories out there!
Image © Peter Williams
Three
“You talk so fast!” Thank you! There’s a lot to get through, so I gotta motor! I’m the fastest talking Nova-Scotian-Tasmanian you’ll see all festival!Four
“You should do (enter famous woman misrepresented by history here) next!” There are so many women through history that deserve to have their stories told! If I start doing a series, I’ll never get to them all! But I may try anyway. . .Five
“You can’t question Shakespeare! You must respect the bard!” Yeah, I can. I can question him all day long. And stop calling him the bard, you sound like a wanker.Gillian English plays Storyville Melbourne (Melbourne International Comedy Festival) 23 March-4 April.
