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I'm a man. I don't have a vagina. And so it was with some apprehension
that I went to see The Vagina Monologues (Playhouse, until 1st March).
Even though this show has been around for seven years, originally performed
in New York, I had never seen it, being somewhat intimidated by the title.
I guess I see myself as a kind of lazy-male-pro-feminist-21st-Century
nearly-new man.
Really, I don't know what I feared. It turns out that demystifying the
vagina is an entertaining, enlightening, and touching experience. For
that is what Vagina Monologues is about; three women dressed in black
in a deep red, sensuous set, telling stories by women and their vaginas.
That's two paragraphs, and already five mentions of the word vagina. Yes,
let's say it: vagina, vagina, vagina! In the ninety minutes spent in the
company of Rula Lenska, Tilly Blackwood and Jenny Jules you will hear
this word, and many more alternatives, more times than I expect you've
ever heard it in your life. You'll even be shouting possibly the most
taboo euphemisms yourself during the show.
It's a wonderful experience - there is excitement from hearing the frank
discussions of female sexuality; at once a mix of mild but pleasant shock,
a real empathy and happiness at hearing mention of aspects of womanhood
that you possibly have never shared before (clearly *I* can't truly share
this empathy, but this is what my companions told me). There is also an
empowering sense in the show; one that makes you wonder why on earth we
don't talk this freely about sexuality all the time. This is a show by
women, about women, but certainly not just for women.
The three stars of the show complement each other. The maturity and deepness
of Rula Lenska plays off the liquid tones of Jenny Jules and the playful
joy of Tilly Blackwood. The scripted banter between the women flows well,
and forms easy interludes between the monologues themselves; these are
the stories of women and their vaginas from around the world. They vary
from the touching stories of elderly women discovering their own sexuality,
through the tragic stories of teenagers in Bosnia, to the exciting spectacle
of triple orgasms. Not something seen on the Playhouse stage before, I
would imagine.
In my mind the performance did more than just entertain; after your initial
reactions to the monologues - mainly laughter, but some intense sadness,
and some anger - you then question your own attitudes. This is what makes
the show so powerful for men as for women. You will certainly be entertained
and enlightened by The Vagina Monologues, and you will also be dwelling
on it for a good while afterwards.
Andy Cotgreave, 23.02.03
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