A moving theatrical performance that makes a difference
On March 11 and 12, 2016, V-Day Guelph produced Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues at War Memorial Hall. V-Day—which stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina—is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. The production was comprised of a series of monologues that raise awareness about gender-based violence and sexual assault as well as celebrate the vagina in all its feminine glory.
The Vagina Monologues has been published in 48 languages and performed in over 140 countries since it premiered in New York in 1996. In order to make this production more relevant to current issues, director Rochelle Richardson and producer Amber Sherwood-Robinson set the show in a bar and nightclub to comment on current rape culture, acknowledged black and Indigenous women, and chose to include a more recently written monologue that is inclusive of trans women.
The set was simple, but the three tables, chairs, and bar with a red neon sign that read “OPEN” clearly evoked a nightclub vibe. The costumes also added to the feeling of the club as some of the actors wore trendy outfits and high heels, while the others wore simpler clothes and aprons.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…continue to suffer heart-wrenching mental, physical, and emotional abuse…[/pullquote]
Although the production seemed sparsely attended in the large space, the cast delivered a performance that filled the room with emotion. The cast—comprised of students and alumni of The University of Guelph—made the audience laugh, cry, and applaud each monologue with feeling.
Olivia Boonstra, Lia Formenti, and Meg Wilson kicked off the performance with great energy. Formenti’s portrayal of her character’s excitement at finally seeing her vagina sucked the audience in with her child-like wonder.
Rebecca Kelly’s depiction of a 72-year-old woman who had never seen her vagina was engaging, funny, and lovable, while Odesia Howlett played a cute, charming six-year-old girl who described her vagina to a reporter as smelling like a snowflake.
Ray Schenk delivered an emotionally charged monologue about a horrifyingly traumatic incident of rape that had the audience in tears. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Emily Vance made the audience laugh as she listed and acted out the many kinds of moans that women make.
Julia Haynes was so incredibly engaging that she actually had the audience chanting the word “cunt” by the end of her performance of “Reclaiming Cunt.”
The delivery of the monologue “They Beat the Girl Out of My Boy…Or So They Tried” by multiple actors conveyed a different kind of weight alongside so many monologues. It was a weight that drove home the message that trans women have suffered and continue to suffer heart-wrenching mental, physical, and emotional abuse for being who they are.
V-Day Guelph’s production of The Vagina Monologues was undeniably touching and clearly executed with the aim to celebrate women from all walks of life. It was clear that all those involved were invested wholeheartedly and simply tried their best to positively contribute to an excellent cause.
All proceeds from this production of The Vagina Monologues went to The Wellness Education Centre at the University of Guelph, Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, and The Native Youth Sexual Health Centre.