When the “Vagina monologues” first came out a few years back, I remember thinking this was one of those feminist avant-garde plays. I was not particularly interested in seeing it. But when I saw it playing here this summer I decided it was time to find out for my self what it was all about.
I was pleasantly surprised. For those who have not seen it, here is a brief summary. Four actresses are on stage and they talk, in turn or together about …you guessed it: vaginas. There are monologues, as the title indicates, on various aspects of this rather delicate subject. Some are hilarious, such as the one about different types of orgasm and the one about the “find your vagina workshops”, some are poignant such as the one about rape and the one about mutilation, some are sad such as the one about ignorance, some are empowering like the one about birth…I enjoyed most of them.
What surprised me were people’s reactions when I mentioned seeing it. Men’s reactions especially. It had not occurred to me how threatening the title is to them. You say vagina they think performance anxiety. IF there was a “Penis monologues”, I don’t think women would feel threatened… Vaginas are a part of women’s bodies and there is a lot to say about them without even involving men. Not to say that men are not concerned by them, they are, but this play is definitely NOT about men. It is a play about women written by women for women. And it does a good job, educating, reassuring, de mystifying this taboo subject. I must say there were men in the audience and I think they not only enjoyed the show but they might have learned a thing or two.
In other words: a very good show, well worth seeing.
The theatre was located on St Denis Street, in the middle of the “Just for laughs festival” area, so I took the opportunity to walk around and take in some of the action.
It was amazing! On top of all the plays and shows in theatres such as the one I had just seen, there were performances everywhere, in the middle of the street, on makeshift stages, in parks, on church steps, some were improvised some were more organized, many were interactive. There were activities that you “walked through”. I caught an unusual dance number in and under waterfalls…
There were booths on every street with animators to keep people informed of upcoming attractions. There was an area for games: chess, checkers, backgammon, scrabble, darts…you could play for fun or compete with champions.
There was music, food and drink everywhere. They even had a “Grande bouffe” event where they served 20000 meals for free. There was corn on the cob and a veal and veggies dish there was fruit and dessert…some people had bread and cheese too. I was awed at how they succeeded in serving so many people and in a rather short time too!
As a Montrealer I am aware of all the festivals held here in summer but I had not been to this one in a few years and I am very impressed! There is never a dull moment. The site is lively, clean, well organized, the people are pleasant. A must see!
