Theatre review: Emilia by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm

It's been a long year for everyone, but, in among lots of job applications, part time work, and stressing about both university and life, I have been able to see and read some things that I really want to share with you!  First of all, here's my review of Emilia !

Title: Emilia
Writer: Morgan Lloyd Malcolm
Director: Nicole Charles
Featured Performers: Saffron Coombs, Adelle Leonce, Clare Perkins
Performed at: The Vaudeville Theatre, London

Seen: as a pay-what-you-want stream; available until 2nd December 

Review: The early 1600s may be one of the primary flourishing periods of English Literature - William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson, John Fletcher- but do we remember any of the women? I certainly hadn't heard of Emilia Bassano, a writer living at the same time as Shakespeare. But writer Morgan Lloyd Malcolm had, and she used the story to write a play that places women at the forefront of the story, and encourages women on-stage and off-stage to take up space.

Book Review- The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

Title: The Penelopiad

Author: Margaret Atwood

Series: Canongate Myths

Published:  October 2005

Length:  198 pages

Source: library

Other info: Atwood has written many things, such as The Blind Assassin, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Heart Goes Last. The Penelopiad was written as part of the Canongate Myths series.

Summary : For Penelope, wife of Odysseus, maintaining a kingdom while her husband was off fighting the Trojan war was not a simple business. Already aggrieved that he had been lured away due to the shocking behaviour of her beautiful cousin Helen, Penelope must bring up her wayward son, face down scandalous rumours and keep over a hundred lustful, greedy and bloodthirsty suitors at bay...And then, when Odysseus finally returns and slaughters the murderous suitors, he brutally hangs Penelope's twelve beloved maids. What were his motives? And what was Penelope really up to? 

Review: Since her husband Odysseus left to fight in the Trojan War, and then gets caught up for ten years on the way back, Penelope has been left running her household, and fighting off suitors who want to marry her, and eat her out of house and home. Now that she's dead, she's ready to tell her side of the tale, as are the twelve maids who were hanged.

According to Goodreads, I read this a few years ago and gave it three stars, but I don't remember doing that. Now I know the Odyssey a bit more, and we're doing a feminist-orientated piece of English coursework, I decided to pick this up, and now I understand things better, I loved it.

There's reinterpretations and challenges to the characters and stories. Obviously, there's those against Odysseus, where there's the question of whether the Cyclops he fought was a monster or a one-eyed barkeeper, and whether his years with Circe and Calypso were spent in brothels or nymphs and witches. But there's also a conversation with Antinous, one of the suitors, explaining why they wanted to marry Penelope so much, and the presentation of Helen as vain, proud, and wanting to conquer men just because she can. Atwood has taken inspiration from multiple sources, not just Homer's epic, but also theories from Robert Graves (who used many writers to inform his work) and Homeric hymns. I like the possibilities this gave Atwood to work with, and the ways she used them.

Penelope's voice often dryly comments on various parts of the stories, and I enjoyed her different insights. What I liked most was the use of the chorus, the twelve maids, whose chapters mostly alternate with Penelope's and change styles each time. Poems, songs, plays, and a transcript of a modern-day murder trial are some of the ways the maids pass their story on in many ways. The writing is well crafted, allowing each of the styles as well as Penelope's main narration to work together to make a story that is intriguing and easy to read.

Overall: Strength 5 tea to a book that makes you think about the different interpretations a myth can have, and provides a new one.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website | Foyles

Theatre review- Travesti

Title: Travesti

Director: Rebecca Hill

Performed by: Unbound Productions

Major cast: John Askew, Dominic Attenborough, Aled Bidder, Hugo Bolton, Stanley Elridge, James Lawrence

Seen at: Pleasance, Edinburgh Fringe

Review: Six men tell women's stories about things such as makeup, pressure, sex, and assault.

The set of six revolving mirrors is very effectively used throughout, as ironing boards, kitchens, display boards, and hanging spaces for the suits the actors wear at the start.

For a cast that all works very well together, I found it a shame that they put some actors out of action at various points in, the play, and they don't return until the end.

At times, they used songs to transition to the next topic. Props to Francesca Fenech, musical director, for putting in some really nice harmonies. Also, the actors have very good voices.

In parts, there's two or more stories being told at once. I have mixed reactions to this; it works at times when two contrasting opinions on one topic are being related, but sometimes it seems like they're talking over each other and interrupting in midsentence just for the sake of it  which made both stories disrupted and harder to follow.

They talk about a good range of topics, and it's interesting to see lots of perspectives on things.

Each individual actor is very good at using movement to emphasise the point that is being made. This is especially clear at the points when they strip, the way they do so and their expressions showing how the person being objectified at that point feels.

The concept of Travesti is a very good one, and does make you think about the differences between expectations and perceptions of genders in society; for example, people were laughing when the men were grinding and singing Do What You Want With My Body, while if it were women doing it then it wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. It's a very good play to see starkly the way different genders are treated in society, in situations ranging in seriousness.

Overall: Strength 4 tea to a thought provoking, well performed piece that everyone should watch.

Links: Company

Mini-review of How to Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran

Mini reviews-exactly what the title suggests. Reviews of short stories, extracts, books that don't really fit into our review criteria but we want to mention anyway, you'll find them here.  

Title: How To Be a Woman (goodreads)
Author: Caitlin Moran
Thoughts: Part of it's a memoir of Caitlin's life, and the other is her thoughts on the topic being discussed. These are the typical ones when talking about feminism: marriage, abortion, strip clubs, and also the not very typical such as what to name certain parts of anatomy. Basically the problems that many women face at some point in their lives. Caitlin tackles these with personal experience, opinion, strong language, and a lot of humour. I liked the way Caitlin spoke from experience, and the way it was chatty and personal.
Strength 5 tea to a fairly inspiring view on feminism, life and being a woman.