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'The Vagina Monologues' is not a metaphor for women's liberation,
radical feminis, or a shock tactic to get bums on seats. The Vagina
Monologues, like Ronseal, does exactly what it says on the tin.
The
show is a rollercoaster ride of celebration, protestation and discovery.
The subject? Women's vaginas.
The
collection of monologues began as a series of interviews gathered
by New Yorker Eve Ensler. Women were asked questions such as; "If
your vagina could get dressed, what would it wear?"
The
interviews opened a floodgate as women around the world, from a
multitude of backgrounds, told their stories.
The
monologues vary from the hilarious and the unbelievable, to the
moving and the tragic.
The
Vagina Monologues over the years has boasted an impressive cast.
Famous names such as Whoopi Goldberg, Kate Winslet and Glenn Close
have all appeared in the show.
Whilst
the Liverpool cast can't boast Hollywood credits, two are home grown
talent and the other had the pleasure of adding lyrics to the Eastender's
theme tune!
Anita
Dobson, Jean Boht and Ester McVey star in this run of the Vagina
Monologues. The cast are seated on stage throughout and play a multitude
of roles as the show progresses.
The
contrasting personalities of the three women created an excellent
rapport on stage and helped to highlight the varying tempos and
moods of the differing speeches.
At
times I felt Jean Boht difficult to listen to. Not least because
someone the age of my grandma talking about orgasms is a little
unsettling, but also because her accent seemed to journey across
the Atlantic and back during the course of a monologue.
Along
with the varying accent, came rising and falling inflection, which
meant I sometimes missed the dialogue. That said - Jean tackled
the most poignant and disturbing monologue with great accomplishment
and sensitivity.
Anita
Dobson sailed through Southern American, cockney (obviously!) and
the clipped tones of Aristocracy with flair. Anita's performance
was engaging, entertaining and had excellent comic timing.
Esther
McVey gave a solid performance with good polished delivery and some
good characterisation too.
With
no set aside from a giant 'V' (need I explain?) and no costume to
denote character, the show is entirely reliant on the strength of
the cast.
Although
I believe there was room for improvement in some performances, the
ensemble nature of this piece ensured a great pace, great laughs
and a real evening of entertainment. And if you can manage to drag
a male along as well - you'll have succeeded where all our audience
failed!
The
Vagina Monologues is at the Liverpool Empire Theatre for one week
only, from Monday 16 - Saturday 21 June.
听
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