Thursday, March 6, 2003
'New voices' added to play
By NOEL GALLAGHER , Free Press Press Arts & Entertainment Reporter
Two men and a First Nations woman will provide "new voices" in The Vagina Monologues, a Sexual Assault Centre London event that will mark International Women's Day on Saturday.
"The show is really a celebration of humanity, not just women, so the male monologues will open all of us up to some very different experiences," says Louise Fagan, who's directing the 90-minute presentation of Eve Ensler's Obie Award-winning play at Althouse College.
London Free Press city columnist Ian Gillespie and local author/actor Donald D'Haene will join the cast, which includes prominent stage performers -- Rachel Holden-Jones, Virginia Pratten, Karen Suzuki, Carol Robinson-Todd, Lesleigh Turner -- and Mary Lou Smoke.
"Mary Lou is a dynamic woman and a First Nations community leader who deserves to be heard," says Fagan, referring to Smoke, who will tell her own "poignant and appropriate" personal story and The Crooked Braid, a native woman's monologue by Ensler.
Sponsored by the London-Middlesex-London Health Unit, the theatrical project is a fundraiser for the Sexual Assault Centre and the London organization's salute to the V-Day Worldwide Campaign, a grassroots movement to stop violence against women and children.
"This show brings out the issues of reality and sexuality in these women's stories and gets people talking about taboo subjects they might otherwise shy away from," says Rashmi Bhat, public education facilitator for the centre, which hopes to raise $15,000 from the benefit performance.
Most of its proceeds will go to support the centre's counselling services, outreach volunteer programs and public-education initiatives, while a percentage will be donated to London's native community through Atlohsa Native Family Healing Services.
Based on interviews with hundreds of women, Ensler's play blunty and brazenly explores their feelings about "the ultimate, forbidden zone" of a woman's body.
The monologues range from amusing anecdotes about the intimate female organ to chilling accounts of rape and other forms of sexual abuse.
Saturday's production is a reprise of The Vagina Monologues staged at the Palace Theatre on Valentine's Day last year.
"That show proved to be so popular that we had to turn away hundreds of people, so we decided to move to a larger venue this time," says Fagan, referring to Althouse College's 600-seat auditorium.
"This play demonstrates the power of theatre and last year's audience were so very brave, anxious and thrilled," she says.
"And I am really sensitive to the fact that every audience and cast member will be bringing their very unique histories and experiences to this performance."
IF YOU GO
What: The Vagina Monologues, by Eve Ensler; presented by Sexual Assault Centre London; directed by Louise Fagan; featuring Rachel Holden-Jones, Virginia Pratten, Mary Lou Smoke, Karen Suzuki, Carol Robinson-Todd, Lesleigh Turner, Ian Gillespie and Donald D'Haene; Angela Sumegi of the Canadian Hearing Society will be signing the production
When: 8 p.m., Saturday
Where: Althouse College Auditorium, 1137 Western Rd.
Tickets: $25, available at the door or by calling 439-0844; proceeds go to the assault centre