THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES at the Canal Café Theatre
★★★
“Aurore Padenou’s performance stands out in particular, delivering many of her lines as though she had just thought of them”
The Vagina Monologues is so entirely engrained in the modern canon, even if you have no idea what it is, you’ve likely heard of it. Debuting in ‘96, it was then largely considered a radical, exciting idea, saying the unsayable with enthusiasm and positivity.
Based on interviews with hundreds of women, each monologue places the vagina at its centre: If it could speak what would it say, if it got dressed, what would it wear? Some are more serious: a refugee recalls being violently gang-raped, and thereafter considering her vagina a pillaged village, unvisited. But most are about discovery: of pleasure, power, identity.
The idea that we don’t talk about vaginas enough, are afraid to say the word itself, is still valid nearly three decades later. But the manner of execution feels dated at times. The many metaphors- “my vagina is a delicate flower; my vagina is a green field” and the airy-fairy ideas of what it would wear, or what it smells of- “snowflakes”- feel counter-productive.
Even in its prime, the play received some feminist criticism, pointing out that third-wave feminism had worked hard to argue that women were more than their bodies, and The Vagina Monologues argues almost the opposite. This feels truer than ever, and watching this production I’m struck by the thought that this is more historical than urgent; a glimpse into ideas past.
The performances themselves vary in quality, but all are carried out with enthusiasm and a sense that they are doing something important, telling stories that have, until now, been neglected, regardless of whether this is always true.
Aurore Padenou’s performance stands out in particular, delivering many of her lines as though she had just thought of them. Despite the controversy of The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could- a grown woman fondly reminisces about being seduced at 13 by an older woman- Pandenou presents this story tenderly and intimately. And while the gnawing feeling that this 13-year-old was essentially raped doesn’t quite go away, Padenou gives the narrative honest complexity.
Each monologue is accompanied by a theme of props- one woman clears up a birthday party, another polishes old silverware. These don’t appear to be relevant to the stories themselves, but given we’re watching multiple one-woman monologues, one right after the other, it keeps the eye focused and the ears from wandering.
Personally, I’m not especially charmed by the idea of my vagina wearing a tuxedo or a tutu, and I don’t think it adds anything to the conversation. But it’s undeniable that V’s (formerly Eve Ensler) work has been massively influential, informing some of the most exciting new theatre today, and that’s reason enough to go see this seminal work.
THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES at the Canal Café Theatre
Reviewed on 15th August 2023
by Miriam Sallon
Photography by Richard Lipman
Recently reviewed by Miriam:
Ashley Barnhill: Texas Titanium | ★★★★ | Museum of Comedy | August 2023
The Wind And The Rain | ★★★ | Finborough Theatre | July 2023
Union | ★★★ | Arcola Theatre | July 2023
Paper Cut | ★★½ | Park Theatre | June 2023
Fruits | ★★★★★ | The Vaults | March 2023
The Black Cat | ★★★★★ | King’s Head Theatre | March 2023
Under The Black Rock | ★★★ | Arcola Theatre | March 2023
Britanick | ★★★★★ | Soho Theatre | February 2023
It’s A Motherf**king Pleasure | ★★★★ | VAULT Festival 2023 | February 2023
Love In | ★★★★ | VAULT Festival 2023 | February 2023
The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues
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