David Monteith-Hodge Archives - Page 3 of 3

★★★

“a hilarious, poignant, confronting and insightful watch”

Based on Jean Genet’s ‘The Maids’ CASA, London’s Festival of Latin American Arts presents the award winning play, ‘The Only Thing A Great Actress Needs Is A Desire To Succeed’, by the Mexican based theatre company Vaca 35.

This multi award winning play brings to light the sobering reality of life in servitude for marginalised women. In your face, loud and adventurous, this production interacts with the audience via multiple senses: sound, sight, smell and even touch (if you’re close enough) making it an incredibly visceral and tangible experience.

Directed by Damián Cervantes with actresses Diana Magallón and Maricarmen Ruíz playing the maids, Vaca 35 created an intimacy that felt as though we were voyeurs spying through the key hole of the servant’s quarters; witnessing the inner machinations of stir crazy serfs. It made for a hilarious, poignant, confronting and insightful watch. The play centres on the combative yet tender, co-dependent relationship between two women who manage the mundanity of their daily lives through fantasy and the monotony of chores. Staged in the unconventional space of the Arcola dressing room, the tiny arena all the more, heightened the claustrophobic, repetitive routine these maids partake in to generate a more bearable existence.

Without forcefully doing so, this play invites audiences to step into the shoes of another culture, country and lifestyle and still feel at home. This is why theatre is so powerful. Divisive assumptions are gently dismantled when a production, such as this, illuminates how similar we all are via our quirky and relatable idiosyncrasies.

It is incredible to believe that Vaca 35 have performed this play 297 times and by the end of this week they will surpass 300 performances. With such high octane energy and intensity, it boggles the mind to imagine how these actresses maintain such a fresh and vibrant portrayal each night. It’s well worth it though and their, obvious, desire to succeed has most certainly paid off.

Reviewed by Pippin

Photography by David Monteith-Hodge

Rejoicing at her Wondrous Vulva the Young Woman Applauded Herself

Ovalhouse

Reviewed – 13th May 2019

★★★★★

“will no doubt provide every viewer with a new perspective on the world”

Rejoicing At Her Wondrous Vulva The Young Woman Applauded Herself is a frank exploration of female sexuality, self-love and patriarchal expectations directed by Donnacadh O’Briain. Brain/Ego (Bella Heesom) and Clitoris/Appetite (Sara Alexander) battle it out for top spot in the female protagonist’s sex life while the former slowly beats the second into societal submission. The clitoris does not understand why she is seen as dirty and disgusting while the brain also often struggles to comprehend the flawed cultural logic she applies to her own sexual desire.

The play explores snippets of the young woman’s sexual growth from discovering masturbation to entering an unfulfilling relationship with a man who sees her as nothing more than a sex object. The protagonist learns that her sexuality and pleasure are embarrassing at a young age when schoolboys laugh at the idea of performing oral sex on a girl. Familiar phrases about female sexuality periodically flash up on a screen at the back of the stage – Virginity is precious. Vaginas are dirty. Sex is for men.

The play is interspersed with scenes of graceful movement (Liz Ranken) in which Alexander nudges and bites at Heesom as if a lioness. This theme is expanded in a meditation led by Alexander during the show where she uses the raw animalism and beauty of the lioness as an analogy for female sexuality. The screen at the back of the stage too shows the face of a lioness to emphasise this.

After the performance, Heesom and Alexander invite the audience to attend an open discussion to reflect on the issues raised in the play. The experiences enacted in the piece are revealed to be near universal amongst the female audience from being told vaginas smell like fish to feeling the need to satisfy a partner on a special occasion. Heesom and Alexander handle the group conversation with great care and sensitivity, and it is an appreciated and moving addition to the show.

The set (Elizabeth Harper) is well considered and helps to emphasise how natural female sexuality is. Heesom and Alexander move around a beautiful (lady) garden with flowers and plants hanging from the ceiling. The screen shows animated flowers growing and dying to reflect the revelations made on stage. The ground is covered in dark pebbles and a rectangular pool of water runs along the back of the stage. A wooden swing hangs in the back-left corner and reminds the audience that these harmful ideas about female sexuality are fed to us since childhood.

Heesom and Alexander are both stars and their chemistry is incredible. The two women move effortlessly between witty back and forth as Brain and Clitoris to sensual moments wrestling on the ground. Heesom’s final speech as the societally battered Clitoris is particularly powerful as she strips off her clothes and attacks the patriarchal constructs that have made female sexuality shameful. Rejoicing At Her Wondrous Vulva The Young Woman Applauded Herself will no doubt provide every viewer with a new perspective on the world.

Arcola Theatre

Reviewed – 22nd July 2019

★★★

“a hilarious, poignant, confronting and insightful watch”

Based on Jean Genet’s ‘The Maids’ CASA, London’s Festival of Latin American Arts presents the award winning play, ‘The Only Thing A Great Actress Needs Is A Desire To Succeed’, by the Mexican based theatre company Vaca 35.

Reviewed by Pippin

Photography by David Monteith-Hodge

The Only Thing a Great Actress Needs is a Great Play and the Desire to Succeed

Arcola Theatre until 26th July as part of the CASA Festival 2019

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Ovalhouse

Reviewed – 13th May 2019

★★★★★

“will no doubt provide every viewer with a new perspective on the world”

Reviewed by Flora Doble

Photography by David Monteith-Hodge

Rejoicing at her Wondrous Vulva the Young Woman Applauded Herself

Ovalhouse until 26th May

Previously reviewed at this venue: