Screaming orgasms. Angry rants. Stories of sensuality and shame, physicality and emotion, self-discovery and relationship. For over 15 years now, Eve Ensler’s landmark work “The Vagina Monologues” has left the hearts of audiences sexed, shaken and stirred by widely varied and creatively performed soliloquies of women’s sexual experience.
Ensler ventured into previously uncharted territory with this project, inviting women to discuss their real physical sexual experiences with absolute honesty and rawness. From hysterical stories about hair to tragic, heart-wrenching stories of rape and violence, “The Vagina Monologues” attempts to encompass a fair complexity of female sexuality in its performance. Though the script has been criticized by some — and rightfully so — as communicating questionable messages about lesbian sexuality for including a highly controversial lesbian story of an older adult woman seducing a very young woman, the overall emphasis of the program is both embracive and empowering for women and men alike.
Since its creation in 1996, “The Vagina Monologues” has been translated into 45 different languages and performed by women around the world, even being courageously shown in countries known for enforcing a stifled female sexuality. The empowering message of this work does not stop at stage edge; in 1998, a movement to stop violence against women and girls across the globe known as V-Day began as an inspiration and extension of “The Vagina Monologues” purpose.
The racy re-vulva-lution hits Raleigh just in time for all those traveling to the capital for this year’s Human Rights Campaign Carolina Gala. The show will run Thursday, Feb. 24 through Saturday, Feb. 26, in Studio Theatre at Meredith College. This year’s performance is the college’s third annual presentation. All proceeds from this production go to the InterAct Agency of Wake County, a support and awareness group for victims of sexual assault and violence.
If you are in Raleigh celebrating the HRC Gala then head on out with that spirit of advancement and liberation to enjoy a viewing of “The Vagina Monologues.”
UNC-Charlotte will be putting on a production of “The Vagina Monologues” this spring, April 14-15. If you’re interested in volunteering or would like more information on buying tickets, visit dso.uncc.edu/women/vday.htm or call 704-687-2541. : :
Photo Credit: ginnerobot, via Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons.