Women, Power and Politics: Then E-Book

Various

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

A collection of wide-ranging and ambitious short plays reflecting the complexities of women and political power in the United Kingdom. The four plays published here look back to the moments in history when women possessed - or achieved - power, and what they did with it. The Milliner and the Weaver by Marie Jones, about the Suffragette movement in Ireland, as the question of Home Rule divides the nation. The Lioness by Rebecca Lenkiewicz is about Queen Elizabeth I, the myth and the reality. Handbagged by Moira Buffini, about the working relationship between Mrs Thatcher and the Queen. Bloody Wimmin by Lucy Kirkwood, about the protests at Greenham Common, a political landmark in the fight for nuclear disarmament. The plays were first performed at the Tricycle Theatre, London, as part of the Women, Power and Politics season in June 2010. The other plays presented in the season are available in the companion volume, Women, Power and Politics: Now.

Leseprobe

WOMEN,POWER AND POLITICS

THEN

MARIE JONES    THE MILLINER AND THE WEAVER

REBECCA LENKIEWICZ    THE LIONESS

MOIRA BUFFINI    HANDBAGGED

LUCY KIRKWOOD    BLOODY WIMMIN

Introduced by Indhu Rubasingham

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Title Page

Introduction by Indhu Rubasingham

Original Production

The Milliner and the WeaverMarie Jones

The LionessRebecca Lenkiewicz

HandbaggedMoira Buffini

Bloody WimminLucy Kirkwood

About the Authors

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Introduction

Indhu Rubasingham

Women, Power and Politics is a season of nine exciting new plays presented in two parts, Then and Now. Creating it has been an important journey where theatre is reflecting, amongst other things, the immediate politics of today. This journey started a year ago.

In May 2009 the Tricycle had just opened The Great Game: Afghanistan. I co-directed it with Nick Kent, who produced the project at the Tricycle in North London, where he is the Artistic Director. It was a day-long event featuring a series of twelve new plays looking at Afghan history from the first Anglo-Afghan War up to the present day. It was proving to be a huge success and a very special production. Two days after the press ‘day’, whilst I was lying in a darkened room recovering from this enormous endeavour, Nick called me to say that he had a great idea he wanted to discuss. I was amazed by his unstoppable energy. He had just read an article in The Times where there was a picture of David Cameron presiding over the then Shadow Cabinet, which consisted entirely of (white) men. The article was discussing where the women were in the Tory Party. Inspired by this, Nick offered me the opportunity to direct and produce a project looking at and titled Women, Power and Politics on a similar template to The Great Game.

It was a unique opportunity to conceive and produce a project on this scale. Where do you start? To begin with I thought about international politics, working with writers from all over the world. However, as I started to research, I soon realised that given it was such a broad subject, if I went too wide I would only be able to skim the surface. I was going to have to narrow it down – and soon. But the statistics internationally were fascinating and the issues complex. How do you define politics and power? The canvas felt very, very big and, at times, daunting. It is, moreover, a subject which raises such passion in people. Opinions, both varied and extreme, were offered on what material the plays should contain. Unlike The Great Game, where the majority of people in this country were fairly unaware of the situation in Afghanistan, everyone is aware of this subject and holds a fervent opinion on it: whether it is Margaret Thatcher or the expenses scandal surrounding Jacqui Smith and her husband. It was also interesting how different generations had very different perspectives and agendas.

The fog slowly lifted and, after much discussion with my team (more about them soon), I decided that the theatre was going to be specific to women, power and politics in Great Britain; while the Tricycle’s cinema would look at women in politics internationally; and its gallery would offer a celebration of women in Great Britain. It was also important to me that the programme would create debate and discussion amongst the audience and be of the highest artistic quality. Theatre is a fantastic medium for emotional engagement, and it is something we experience as a collective; I wanted the event to demonstrate the complexity of issues that should concern and engage everybody. In the theatre, we are not there to define answers but to provoke questions.

At the time of writing, we have just had a General Election. Women make up 22% of Parliament. There are only four women in the new Cabinet which works out at less than 20% and far less than most other Western democracies. Spain, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Greece, the USA and Belgium are just a few of the countries that have a much higher percentage of women in Government and in the Cabinet. Yet women make up 52% of the population of the UK. During the election campaign of 2010, it was the wives of the party leaders who had far more media coverage than any female politician or candidate. This new era of British politics is especially worrying as there seems to be little or no interest or concern about the lack of representation. This is ironic considering the fanfare surrounding ‘Blair’s Babes’ in 1997. Why is this happening and what are the obstacles that are preventing women from entering or gaining power within the political system in this country? Is it the structure of government? The media? Society? Or is it women themselves?

I created a small team who would meet regularly to bounce ideas and discuss the project. This included Zoe Ingenhaag, Ruth Needham, Holly Conneely and Rachel Taylor. This team sometimes expanded to engage more voices, but on the whole this was the core group. Different generations of women discussing and tussling over this material was thrilling and thought-provoking. One example will serve for many: it became apparent that the two younger ones had never heard of Greenham Common and were unaware of such an enormous political event in the 1980s. This was suprising and led us to asking: why had this event been lost to a younger generation, and what is its legacy?

There were going to be two parts to this project, each containing four or five plays. The two parts would be played alternately on weekday evenings, and together on Saturdays. The first part would look at historical issues and the second part would look at the current situation. This was primarily decided in order to give the two parts a distinctive quality. Nick Kent suggested introducing a verbatim element, for which the Tricycle is renowned, and introduced me to Gillian Slovo. We met and decided that she would interview a variety of politicians and then edit the pieces to form a backbone to the whole event. They would be interspersed between the plays and give us the current reality of women politicians.

After the groundwork had been done, I started to approach playwrights, some I knew and others I did not. I went to Belfast and met Marie Jones; persuaded Zinnie Harris who was pregnant and already overly busy; commissioned old colleagues and friends with whom I hadn’t worked but long admired: Moira Buffini and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, and young writers whose energy, skill and voice really impressed and excited me like Lucy Kirkwood, Sam Holcroft and Joy Wilkinson. I had just worked with Bola Agbaje on her play, Detaining Justice, and really wanted her perspective and zest; when Sue Townsend was interested, well, what can I say: I grew up on her writing.

I met and talked with each writer about the entire concept. Most of them chose subjects and topics that they were interested in, others I suggested ideas to, but all these playwrights were enthusiastic and passionate about the subject. I made sure that the content of the plays did not overlap and waited impatiently for the first drafts. The National Theatre Studio very kindly hosted the project for a week in order to develop the scripts with actors. This proved invaluable for the development process.

The plays are incredibly exciting. The content, form and voice are unique in each play, and yet each packs a punch and is complex in its ideas. Viewing them alongside each other in production is bound to produce a stimulating and intense evening. It is an honour to be working with so much talent and I am grateful to the playwrights for their wonderful plays.

I have to thank Mel Kenyon for her advice and support, as well as Jack Bradley. Purni Morell and the National Theatre Studio have been very generous. It is a privilege to be working with Rosa Maggiora and Amy Hodge on this production with an incredibly talented and brilliant company of actors. None of this would have happened without my core team, and Zoe Ingenhaag has been the rock of this project. Finally, none of this would even be taking place if it were not for Nick Kent and his team at the Tricycle.

May 2010

Then was first performed at the Tricycle Theatre, London, as part of the Women, Power and Politics season on 4 June 2010, with the following casts:

THE MILLINER AND THE WEAVER

HENRIETTA

Niamh Cusack

ELSPETH

Stella Gonet

THOMAS

Felix Scott

THE LIONESS

QUEEN ELIZABETH I

Niamh Cusack

NEUZER

Simon Chandler

JOHN KNOX

Tom Mannion

ESSEX

Oliver Chris

COURTIERS

John HollingworthFelix Scott

HANDBAGGED

T

Stella Gonet

Q

Kika Markham

MAGS

Heather Craney

LIZ

Claire Cox

RON

Tom Mannion

SHEA

Simon Chandler

BLOODY WIMMIN

HELEN

Claire Cox

LITTLE GIRL / HANNAH / LIV

Amy Loughton

REPORTER / LOU

Heather Craney

GRAHAM

Felix Scott

MARGARET

Niamh Cusack

LORRAINE

Stella Gonet

BOB

Oliver Chris

JACK

Simon Chandler

DAN

Tom Mannion

JAMES

John Hollingworth

SOPHIE

Lara Rossi

LILLIAN

Kika Markham

Director

Indhu Rubasingham

Designer

Rosa Maggiora

Lighting Designer

Matt Eagland

Sound Designer

Tom Lishman

Associate Director

Amy Hodge

Associate Producer

Zoe Ingenhaag

Dramaturg

Rachel Taylor

THE MILLINER AND THE WEAVER

Marie Jones

Characters

HENRIETTA GIRVAN, from Belfast, a widowed mill worker, a weaver, in her early forties

ELSPETH SMITH, from Dublin, wife of a Dublin businessman, late thirties

THOMAS GIRVAN, son of Henrietta, sixteen

Belfast, 1914.

The play is set in the small mill house in East Belfast, the home of HENRIETTA and her six children.

The house does not have much: a chest, a few chairs, a sideboard and a scrubbed table. On the sideboard are a few cups, a teapot, milk and sugar.

Somewhere upstage a window looking onto the street.

In a blackout we hear distant marching and a crowd cheering… and occasionally a voice… ‘Left left, left right left.’

Lights up onstage.

HENRIETTA stands in front of the scrubbed table… she is washing socks in a tin basin and hanging them individually on a line… underneath the table there are four sets of dirty shoes or boots. She stops and goes to the window to listen to the marching… goes back to the basin and the scrubbing.