The Vagina Monologues

I went to see The Vagina Monologues at the Mandurah Little Theatre last night. We had a terrible time finding the Theatre. For those of you who will venture down there (and I hope you will) it is actually part of the Tafe Campus. I am SO glad we persevered and found the place! Karen Francis and her talented cast of Beryl Francis, Janine Bramall, Diana Oliver and Sky Ogier presented us with a show that held the first night audience spellbound. This is not a play for the faint-hearted. It is funny, sad, horrifying, embarrassing and liberating - all at the same time - and it is confronting and in-your-face, all the time. The minimal set worked well, the lighting was right, the occasional drumming was a nice touch. The acting was superb. The subject matter, and even the words themselves, make this a difficult play to perform. There was an occasional stumble, but it didn't matter at all. There were no weak spots. Two of the monologues moved the audience to tears, one was so gut-wrenching that applause was almost impossible. I had an ulterior motive for going to see this play. I am going to direct my own production of it at Playlovers in August. My production will certainly be different from the one I saw last night, but will it be better? That is one Hell of a BIG ask!