‘The Vagina Monologues’, a hilariously poignant award winning play by Eve Ensler, will be presented by The Zonta Club III in an initiative to create awareness of the senselessness of violence towards women and children to audiences in Sri Lanka. There have been successful attempts to translate and adapt the play for a Sri Lankan audience, but for the first time, Poor-Box Productions, an acclaimed award-winning theatre company based in Mumbai, India, will be flown down to perform the actual play.

“As a person who loves and works with drama I know that theatre is a powerful medium through which awareness can be created, hence this project on advocacy. Violence against women has reached pandemic proportions, as Zontians it’s up to us to live by the mandate of the club to empower women.” Priyanganie, president of the club, said of bringing the play down. ‘The Vagina Monologues’ is made up of various monologues, all based on Eve Ensler's interviews with more than 200 women, addressing women’s sexuality and the social stigma surrounding rape and abuse. Their experiences are shaped into a sequence of sad, funny, wounded, outraged, and joyful deliberations on the landscape of the female body and the violence to which it can be subjected. For more than a decade, ‘The Vagina Monologues’ has given voice to experiences and feelings not previously exposed in public and brought a deeper consciousness to educate and change social attitudes towards violence against women. “We believe this play is more topical now than it was, when it was performed 10 years ago, don't you think?” Priyanganie commented.

In India, the play was performed to various groups of women from slums. ‘Kissa Yoni Ka’, the Hindi version, was part of a project to perform the play for around 3,000 women from various slums, these women being the ones who really needed to hear the message of the play. Performances apparently started in hushed, uncomfortable silence and then erupted into raucous laughter and ended in the women intending to start discussions about their sexuality.

What of the expected reaction in Sri Lanka? “The speciality of the play will vary based on the personal significances to the variety of women who will watch it. Actually there are multiple specialities that are woven into the fabric of the play.” said Priyanganie, adding that she thinks that the audience will react positively.

This powerful, hilariously witty and moving collection of tales is sure to appeal to a wide adult audience.  The performance is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 18.

Tickets are available at the British School Auditorium or on Quickee.lk.

When – 24th August, 2014
Where - British School Auditorium
Time - 3.30 pm and 7.00 p.m.
Tickets - Rs 5000, Rs 4000, Rs 3500, Rs 2500 and Rs 1500.

By Marissa van Eyck