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Early 80's Feminist Themes Still Relevant in 2017 Drama Production

Friday 5 May 2017, 1:56PM

By RedPR

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Ella Minehan-Fitzgerald in the "Amazons" Promotional Poster
Ella Minehan-Fitzgerald in the "Amazons" Promotional Poster Credit: Neil Macbeth Photography

CHRISTCHURCH

Be bold, break barriers - That’s the motto for 2017 at Rangi Ruru Girls’ School and the upcoming senior drama production certainly does that.

Revenge of the Amazons, by Kiwi playwright Jean Betts is a play re-written from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights’ Dream with strong feminist themes. It was first performed in the early eighties.

Director of Theatre Arts at Rangi Ruru, Peter Rutherford says despite the age of the play, the issues are still very relevant in 2017.

“The recent American elections, the Roastbusters case and the Wellington Boys College Facebook scandal clearly show that instilling in our students the importance of feminist philosophies and themes are as relevant as ever,” he says.

Jean Betts has updated the setting of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights’ Dream to Eighties New Zealand and has written a play that outlines the concerns of the feminist movement and Peter Rutherford says Betts has done this in a way that engages the audience by tickling their funny bones rather than shaking a stick at them.

“The play has been described as ‘side splitting satire’ and it certainly manages to be hilarious, touching, bawdy and bewildering within its two hours. Those brave enough to see it will come away entertained,” he says.

The cast has embraced the opportunity to learn stage fighting for many of the scenes and Mr Rutherford says their passion for the characters is remarkable.

“The girls have totally embodied the school motto this year of ‘Be Bold, Break Barriers’ by tackling some uncomfortable issues in this play. The Fallopian Thespians, the feminist theatre co-op who perform the play within a play, are an hilarious update of the usual cast who perform in A Midsummers Nights’ Dream. They alone are well worth the ticket price.”

Rangi Ruru is proud to be behind Aviva, supporting their family and sexual violence services by taking donations of female hygiene products (including deodorant, tampons and toothpaste). A gold coin donation to Aviva can also be made at the door.

Aviva’s Funding and Marketing Manager, Julie McCloy, says Aviva is an advocate of gender equality and feminism, and encourages young people to engender conversations about those topics.

 

“Revenge of the Amazons sounds like a way to consider these issues within a really entertaining context, and we’re really glad to be included in a way that enables the community to lend their support to our services, which unfortunately are always in extremely high demand,” she says.

 

Tickets went on sale this week.

ENDS

'Revenge Of The Amazons' by Jean Betts & William Shakespeare

Cost: $30 adult, $20 student

Place: Merivale Lane Theatre Merivale Lane

Times and dates: 17-20 May, 7.00-8.30pm, matinee 20 May, 2.00-3.30pm

Running time: 90 minutes including interval

Tickets available online now from https://nz.patronbase.com/_RangiRuru/Productions

Contains coarse language and adult themes

 

Backgrounder:

'Revenge Of The Amazons' - Jean Betts & William Shakespeare

venge of The Amazons', written by Jean Betts, is a modern twist on Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer's Night's Dream'.

Jean has taken Shakespeare's legendary plot and script, and adapted it to suit her more modern, feminist style. This includes making Hippolyta a strong, independent and women loving character, worried about her marriage to Theseus, who is portrayed as a wimpy, dependent character.

She has also swapped the plot line surrounding Oberon and Titania, to make Oberon the cheating King, and Titania the scorned lover who employs magic to win her love back. Puck and Peaseblossom are made female characters, and to top it all off - the 'actors' have been made into a feminist organisation whose sole purpose is to break up the wedding of Hippolyta and Theseus.

Revenge of the Amazons premiered at Circa in 1983 very soon after feminist icon Betty Friedan had followed her consciousness-shifting The Feminine Mystique with The Second Wave. As Theatreview pointed out in a review of the production, Revenge of the Amazons also predates Xena – Warrior Princess by more than a decade.

http://www.rangiruru.school.nz