The Female of the Species

As the title suggests this is a play about Feminism, woven loosely around an incident when Germaine Greer was held at gunpoint in her own home.  I had thought I was about to see a play which was pro feminism but came away confused as to whether it was for or against, perhaps neither.  It certainly raised issues from both sides of the debate and was full of strong language; perhaps this was demonstrating equality of the sexes.

Margot, a feminist writer, is having problems writing her latest book, when Molly, a former student, arrives with a gun and handcuffs, threatens to shoot Margot and handcuffs her to her desk.  Her explanation is that she considers that Margot has ruined her life as after reading Margot’s book The Cerebral Vagina, Molly’s mother gave Molly away so that she ‘wouldn’t be enslaved by motherhood’ and then killed herself.  Molly has been sterilized to preserve her creativity, but Margot has told her she has no talent.  The Margot’s daughter Tess, who is married with children, and exhausted looking after her family, arrives and agrees Margot should be shot.  Throw into the mix Tessa’s husband, Bryan; taxi driver, Frank, and Margot’s gay publisher Theo, and many home truths emerge.

The play had a brilliantly constructed set of a writers’ ‘work space’, superbly dressed with no superfluous furniture or props.  The wall back of the set was slightly raised with steps descending to the main part of the room, it was mostly glass with French Doors, and most of the cast entered this way, there were also two large spikey cacti.  Doors led to different parts of the house, bookshelves were well positioned, there was a very comfortable looking leather sofa, and the all-important desk to which Margot is handcuffed for a chunk of the play.  The sound effects were well-cued and the set was well lit, giving the feel of an light and airy room.  

The play had been well cast with everyone giving strong performances.  Jenny Nixon, as the central character Margot, an author with ‘writers block’, showed that she thought her views were totally correct in everything she had written over the years, although she had changed her mind along the way.  A good portrayal of someone who totally believes she is right and cannot see why other people have problems with her views.  Eve Biard gave a well-controlled performance as Molly, the very emotionally scared and confused would be assassin. Christina Heward-Mills, as Margot’s daughter Tess, both coping with the problems of motherhood and the uncertainty of who she was, as her mother refused to reveal the identity of her father, had the sympathy of everyone in the audience who has experienced the extreme fatigue being a mother of young children can bring about.  She just wanted to escape for a little while, a real cry from the heart.  Darren Skinner as Bryan, Tess’s husband, seemed to have got it all wrong, he was a caring character very much in tune with his feminine side, even without the ‘pinny’, but it seemed that Tess would have liked a ‘cave man’ after all.  His comic timing was spot on.  I enjoyed Jonathan Vickers performance as taxi driver Frank, who was now showing his macho side, as he was fed up with being sensitive and caring to his wife, who had left him anyway.  Tim Howard as Theo, Margot’s publisher, a lovely cameo role, brought stability to the situation, and was unfazed by Margot’s revelation.

Hannah McDonald in her Directorial debut for Cotswold Players brought a very thought provoking and wordy play to the stage.  She had worked well with her cast and I suspect had drawn some surprising things from them.  The pace was good and there was excellent timing, with well-rounded characters who understood their roles.

Well done everyone.

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