Review: The Vagina Monologues

‘I was worried about vaginas. There’s so much darkness and secrecy surrounding them – like the Bermuda Triangle. Nobody ever reports back from there.’

The Drama Studio was packed to the rafters and every seat was filled, with some attendees even having to squeeze in and find a seat on the walkway steps. The stage was decorated with boards depicting various (and wonderfully drawn) vaginas. A single microphone and spotlight took centre stage, encircled by the performers for the night.

Hattie Samuels, president of UEA’s Feminist Society, gave an amusing yet serious prequel to the show, exploring the meaning of feminism. The entire event was encapsulated by one phrase given in her speech – a quote from Rebecca West – ‘Women are people’.

The event was introduced by directors Milli Bhatia and Jess Clough-MacRae and producer Emma Jennings, who outlined the inspiration for the event being the horrific gang-rape incident in India recently, which shocked and spurred them into putting on the Vagina Monologues to raise awareness.

It was mentioned that 10,000 cases of violence against women are reported to Norfolk Police each year – making the cause all the more important and relevant to young people across UEA.

Out of the 20 that each played their part, there was not a single performer that did not captivate the audience entirely. The Monologues maintained a perfect balance of humour and seriousness, with everyone either falling about laughing or trying their best not to weep.

Particular highlights were: the frog-naming ceremony that went on to apply to her ‘itsy-bitsy’, the various and insightful first period tales that highlighted both the shame and desire in wanting and getting your first period, and the story of the older woman who was reluctant to talk about ‘Down There’.

Perhaps the most laughs to be heard from the audience was when all the performers showcased different styles of orgasm moans in a round, from the all-too-familiar ‘student moan’ to the ‘triple surprise orgasm’ moan.

It was extremely good to see a decent male turn out too. Though the Monologues very nearly teetered into anti-man territory with the joke ‘Who needs a handgun when you’ve got a semi-automatic?’, it was perfectly complimented by Rachel Bradley’s depiction of the non-descript man who LOVED vaginas.

The Vagina Monologues were put on in aid of V-Day and One Billion Rising. 90% of the proceeds from the event went to Leeway – a Norfolk based domestic abuse charity, and 10% went to the One Billion Rising campaign.

A feature video from Eve Ensler, creator of the Monologues, will be shown on February 14 in The Forum.