My Crazy Week of Theatre

For someone who yaks on about it day and night I don't normally get to watch a lot of theatre. I mean I still probably watch more than the average person, and I watch a huge amount of comedy, but recently theatre has taken a back bench. Unless you can find a way to beg, borrow or steal tickets it's an extraordinarily expensive past time to fund.

But this is a massive mistake. As much as I love comedy it traps me into a world where everything must be funny, funny, funny. Sometimes I want to switch that off and relax into the exploration of something other than just getting the laughs or one person holding the fort. Sometimes I crave interaction that isn't centered around a comedian attempting to control a drunk, over confident ignoramus in the front row. Plus, how do we learn how to act, to write, to produce theatre without seeing it in action? 

The thing about moaning about time, ticket prices and what not is that when you find yourself with a week off work and being offered seats on the house you have to accept that offer. Duh! Oh, I'm not complaining. I just didn't expect it to happen four times. In one week. That's all. 

THE WEEK OF THEATRE

MONDAY: A Chorus Line, Piccadilly Theatre, West End, London

WEDNESDAY: Nihal, St. James Theatre, London

FRIDAY: Blonde Poison, St. James Theatre, London

SATURDAY: Coalition, Pleasance Theatre, Islington

In case you're wondering, I got the tickets through a combination of writing arts columns for a newspaper and through friends and family papering. These are both good ways for the impoverished artist to see as much theatre as possible. Personally I think it's important to be careful about reviewing, about bandying your opinion about especially if you're planning to work in the industry, but writing articulate, interesting, well researched arts columns, articles and features can be great practice. I was asked to write about different aspects of the productions, creative teams and venues depending on what I was seeing and who for. This forced me to practise both my writing skills and to watch the shows from different perspectives. Plus, I can be a little boring about what I like so it's pretty nifty to have been forced into a week of such different types of theatre. Look! A West End musical, two solo plays one about rights for disabled children and one about the holocaust plus a political satire starring a cast of comedians. Phew! 

'Designer Vagina' the movie!

A week or so ago I wrote a blog here about a comedy short I was in called Designer Vagina, written & directed by Lucy Dwyer (Dobson). Now it's up on the YouTube so I thought I'd share it here also.  We're always told, in this profession, to get out there and do our own stuff so I get excited when people really do go and do that. It's not always easy and there's a great deal of promising and negotiating along the way. It's amazing that anything gets made at all really. But Lucy (not me) knew what she was doing. There were coffee and muffins on arrival...genius. So here it is. Don't worry, there are no actual...you know whats...on display. We're all talk. And popcorn. 

Thespians just love vagina

Not since Eve Ensler's groundbreaking The Vagina Monologues has there been so much mention of, ahem, our lady bits in the Arts as this weekend held. Or my weekend at least. Although I may have undermined the whole 'let us call it what it is' stance by referring to them as 'lady bits'. Sorry. Though, to be fair, I have never denied my prudish tendencies. Which is probably why I'm so tickled by this weekend's double whammy, so to speak. 

On Saturday I played the much coveted role of 'Woman 1' in Lucy Dobson's funny and lovely little comedy short Designer Vaginas. On being told this title my mother stared at me aghast as she tried to work out how best to sensitively ask if I'd, fed up with the acting grind, bitten the bullet and entered the adult entertainment industry. I can assure you, as I did her, that it was as quirky as the title suggests but in no way raunchy or vajazzled. I won't share much more about the filming as I wouldn't want to spoil the joy for you all of watching it (yes I will be posting it here) when it's ready. I will say, however, that I've never ever had a camera man say to me 'That was very good. That's quite an interesting vagina you've got there'. Referring, by the way, to the SCRIPT's content. You know, the words I was saying. Not my...you get the gist. I told him nobody had ever said that to me before. Then I thought for a moment and added, "I kind of hope no one ever does again". 

The next day I went to ITCH, the exciting Sunday afternoon scratch sessions that The Comedian's Theatre Company runs at the Pleasance Theatre. There were bits of plays, comedy sketches and improv (more about this in a later blog) but what stood out for me, for obvious reasons, was musical comedienne Pippa Evan's song My Vagina. Actually I don't know if it had a proper title but this is fitting enough for now since the song can be pretty much epitomised by those two words. Written as a response to feminine deodorising wipe company femfresh's patronising slogans such as 'Woo Hoo for my Fru Fru' it ended with her encouraging the audience to call out 'VAGINA!' in much the same way Ensler revolutionised the word 'cunt'. (By the way, I honestly never thought I'd use that word in a blog). 

Although both the projects listed above are comedy the truth is that femfresh's campaign actually had quite a major backlash from insulted women fed up of being made to feel unclean, unnatural and unfeminine. In their funny, silly, irreverent ways both Pippa Evans and Lucy Dobson are joining those in the Arts who are tackling the way women are infantilised by the media. Since I totally support anyone who manages to both entertain and convey a point I'm thrilled to be involved. Shall we say it!? 

VAGINA!

Have a good day!