Women Talking, Women Silenced: The Last Word, Marylebone Theatre, London
Visceral. Soulful. Profound. A play which takes the words of real women and literally gives voice to them (through Alisa Khazanova). For the majority of the women featured are imprisoned, well just for being women. Those who’ve escaped have been in prison at points or are labelled as security risks and enemies of the state, for their gender — and their words.
Mix some of those weird Czech cartoons from the ‘60’s with very stylised contemporary dance, spoken word and a documentary style — and you get something of the play. Introducing each woman in turn, we get a biography of the subject projected onto the stage and then her words. Using Go-Pro-ish camera work, the cast of two (a male dancer and a woman) project the intensity of prison life and the punishing juggernaut of the Russian system — in the ‘60’s during the Prague Spring and under Putin.
At first the male dancer rolled around the stage, wordless, bloodied and bruised — then he was washed, corpse-like, or perhaps purified. Eventually he found a uniform and became increasingly intrusive and bullish, needing to pushed off the stage and covered, silenced as he peered and observed. Partly I have no idea — but I do wonder if this was nod towards the powerful men who were birthed, nurtured and cared for women — similar to the mothers, teachers, artists, hairdressers and administrators — whom they are now turning on, abusing and incarcerating. Including placing one in a glass cage.
The same bloodied, water washed white sheet becomes a baby, a body, a Madonna like symbol of nurture and martyrdom. (It’s a visually striking moment in a play full of compelling visuals). At the same time the woman’s fragility, vulnerability, humanity, tenderness was apparent.
However, the words! Amazing because it was all translated — we heard, read, saw — all at the same time. We also got to see their ‘crimes’ and when they were imprisoned. Worst of all is that people are imprisoned pre-trial. One woman protested against the treatment of her cell-mate with a child, where the laws for prisoners with babies and children were being ignored, cast aside and her cell-mate left with a child unable to crawl or develop due to the cockroach infested floor. Women’s rights took on a whole new meaning here.
We saw the impact on women, their lives and relationships as a woman imprisoned was furiously videoed and photographed by her children who wanted to remember her. The disruption to family life, relationships, normal life was immense and very sad, for most of these women weren’t high powered, but ordinary everyday women protesting against the mistreatment and abuse of women in Russia. (Not to mention its mistreatment of its ‘satellite states’). Who are now being accused and punished because of ‘political crimes’, which includes many Ukrainian women standing up and speaking out against Russian actions and aggression in Ukraine, against the senseless waste of young Russian men and women’s lives in such a war, in the women who are speaking out for an end to the Ukraine invasion, for peace. For change and better education and communities. For an end to domestic abuse and violence. For women to use their voices — and their words — on behalf of themselves, other women, everyone. This is apparently tantamount to a terrorist act, and they must apparently be removed and silenced by the state.
I loved the ‘Pussy Riot’ section as it was sung to us. A mime before showed us how the Pussy Riot protest was fueled by the objectification and mistreatment of women. It was terrific, heaps of punk energy and anger — and dance.
Incredibly moving was the poem at the end, and the list of women’s names and sentences which scrolled at the end. Over 70….What really shocked me was that several of the women had been subjected to forced psychiatric treatment — that ever popular tool of locking away inconvenient or outspoken women away, out of sight and out of mind. It doesn’t bear thinking about. Many of them were targets purely for their chosen faith. But most of all they were targeted because they were women.
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