In 2011, playwright, author and activist, Eve Ensler chose Johannesburg, South Africa to workshop her newest play, Emotional Creature. Eve chose that city, that country, that continent because it was the birthplace of humankind and the play was birthing a new way for girls to bring their stories to the public and see themselves as the strong and ‘emotional creatures’ they were born to be.
The stories in Emotional Creature are inspired by girls around the globe and the theatrical piece is a celebration of the authentic voice inside every girl. Among the girls Ensler creates are an American who struggles with peer pressure in a suburban high school; an anorexic blogging as she eats less and less; a Masai girl from Kenya unwilling to endure female genital mutilation; a Congolese forced into sex slavery; a Chinese factory worker making Barbies; an Iranian student who is tricked into a nose job; a pregnant girl trying to decide if she should keep her baby and a young South African teen defiantly calling for an end to rape. Through rants, poetry, questions, and facts, we come to understand the universality of girls around the world: their resiliency, their wildness, their pain, their fears, their secrets, and their triumphs.
Through workshop productions in Johannesburg and Paris, and subsequent commercial runs in Berkeley, California and New York City we have come to witness the impact the piece has for its audiences, the power of theatre and its ability to engage and transform. The play is engaging, moving from laughter to tears, and giving audiences one of the most powerful theatrical experiences of a lifetime. We believe that youth across Africa will have the same visceral response to the show. V-Day’s work for the last 15 years across Africa, has provided an opportunity to see the power of young African women emerge when they are inspired, their issues taken seriously, when they are seen and supported in giving to determine their futures. From South Africa to the V-Day Safe House in Narok, Kenya to the City of Joy, in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, V-Day has been proud to be the catalyst for girls 15 years and older to come into their own power.
When the show ran in South Africa, we saw the impact most vividly when teens from both public and private schools attended free morning performances and experienced a piece of theatre written for them. It was exhilarating. The morning shows would conclude with a talkback by the cast – teen-to-teen – where the issues that Emotional Creature raised were discussed. Many reported being moved by the monologues and learning, sometimes for the very first time, about the experiences of girls outside of their country. Many girls shared that the show and the subjects resonated for them on a personal level, from rape to their sexuality, to racism and economic injustice. Boys in particular voiced that for them it was the first time that they understood what their female peers were experiencing.
School staff that saw Emotional Creature were incredibly moved by the piece and as a follow up invited cast members to visit their schools to speak at assemblies. Important discussions took place that often included young men. For example, the monologue “My Short Skirt” sparked heated discussion about how the clothes that women and girls wear are not an invitation for sexual advances from young men.
It was clear the vital role theatre could play in a country promoting dialogue and giving voice to sensitive subjects. It was evident that this was theatre in action!
Tony Award winning playwright, Eve Ensler, Obie award-winning Director Jo Bonny and South African, Naledi Award winning composer, Charl-Johan Lingenfelder whose original music runs throughout the show, will be the creative helm the show. Acclaimed South African actress, director, and producer Gina Shmukler will produce the show alongside V-Day’s Managing Director, Cecile Lipworth, who is from South Africa. A cast of local actresses has been chosen to perform.
The show will open July 18th 2014 at the University of Johannesburg’s Art Center and run until 30th July, followed by 10 day run from August 6th-16th at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town. In both venues morning shows will be offered to high schools and the evening shows will be open to the public.
Emotional Creature will then travel to the Intwasa Festival in Bulawayo on September 24th & 25th and then to Nairobi and Nakuru in Kenya.
In addition to the shows UJ Arts Centre and the Baxter Theatre will host “Eve in conversation …” When Eve was in Jozi in 2011, one of the highlights was a conversation hosted by Karabo Kgoleng at the Market Theatre. The depth of the conversation evoked a rich dialogue with the audience around the issues brought up in the play and in the culture in South Africa.
It is our hope to once again host an inspiring conversation while Eve is in South Africa in 2014. The conversation in Jozi will take place on Sunday, July 20th at 6pm and in Cape Town on Saturday, August 2nd at 4pm. We hope to see an audience of feminist thinkers, activists, youth from the university’s campuses and well known South African personalities. Booking for the conversations is essential please email rsvp@dreammultimedia.co.za or call Thato 011 447 5612.