they have made a noticeable effort to share the experiences of many, to both hilarious and humbling effect in word, movement and dance.
‘A milestone for women in the arts’: EMILIA – Shakespeare’s Globe
My hope of ever witnessing a true revolution for women in theatre began to disappear over the last year – until Emilia at Shakespeare’s Globe.
No more trap door: Women don’t have to justify their place at the table
Like many others, I have my hopes, even expectations, on the change that women may bring. But this is not for me to burden women creatives with. They already have enough of a challenge as it is just to get a break.
GOOD GIRL – Old Red Lion Theatre
How do you cope with anxiety when you’re too young to know what it is? This initially appears to be what Good Girl is going to be about – how as children it is so instilled in us to please others.
HALF BREED – Soho Theatre
This is a beautifully made one-woman show in which Natasha Marshall plays all the characters, but chiefly Jaz, a 17-year-young woman of mixed African and British parentage.
BECHDEL TESTING LIFE – The Bunker
Bechdel Theatre’s recent initiative Bechdel Testing Life asks women to send in recorded conversations from their everyday lives that pass the test. These are then given to playwrights, who use the conversations as jumping-off points for short plays.
ANATOMY OF A SUICIDE – Royal Court
And what an excruciating, yet devastatingly brilliant, two hours they are. The play shows episodes from the life of the women of one family spread over three time periods: one starts in the 1970s, the next in the 1990s and the third in the 2030s.
LOW LEVEL PANIC – Orange Tree Theatre
The late Clare McIntyre’s Low Level Panic has a great title for a 1980s feminist drama. In three words she presents the emotional landscape of her play: uncertain, edgy, angsty.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
Spirited revival of the 1980s feminist classic is a bit too shrill, yet also quietly moving when it matters.
VIXEN – Circus City Festival
It’s no wonder that we females may seem a little crazy at times when, as shown by the three ladies of Norwegian company Tanter, the identity of 21st century womanhood is framed by the preceding hordes of cultural demands and expectations as well as our present needs.
How can we work together for the future of circus arts?
The second week of Bristol’s Circus City Festival has been characterised by lots of opportunities to get together and talk over pressing issues in the sector in a facilitated manner. The ‘biggie’ is the Open Space forum, presented by Circus Futures and run by Devoted&Disgruntled, who have been rallying the UK theatre community in this manner since 2005.