Evolution
OUR MAN by Daniel Clucas, Finborough Theatre.
Directed by ANITA HARMON
NONI MAGDANZ (Ears)
HELEN ALEXANDER (Eyes)
‘…intensely dramatic…hilariously funny’ GAZETTE ‘…fast and hilarious.’ EVENING STANDARD
EFFEMERA is the next evolutionary incarnation of multiple, small to middle scale, feminist theatre companies, starting with TIMEZONE in the 1980s, initiated by Helen Alexander, with current trustee, Sheila Bryans, also the much loved and missed, Noni Magdanz and the late, multi-talented Graham Christopher.
Like so many recent Drama School graduates, longing for work opportunities to stroll into view, and frustrated by the limited availability of roles for women, they opted to market their skills on the fringe, applying their initiative and organisational skills to production. Comedy was their forte, and they always applied their well-honed improvisation techniques during rehearsal.
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They’d all previously been members of ANDY & ANITA HARMON’s (Spolin) improvisation troupe, TROUBLE IN PUBLIC; performing at THE ARTS THEATRE, SOHO and in tandem with members of THEATRE MACHINE (Ben Bennison, Justin Case) at THE GATE THEATRE, Notting Hill.
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TROUBLE IN PUBLIC also produced a female-centric reduction of ‘The Scottish Play’ entitled, WITCH MACBETH. This was performed and discussed at several university Student Union gigs. The memory of this production was one of the catalysts which inspired Helen’s play, THE WEYARD SISTERS.
TIMEZONE produced:
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OUR MAN by Daniel Clucas & THE BALD PRIMA DONNA by Eugene Ionesco, The Finborough Theatre, directed by ANITA HARMON (Three of the five roles in Our Man, were cross-cast & played by women actors – nobody noticed)
ABIGAIL’s PARTY by Mike Leigh THE ROSE TAVERN Chelsea, & THE ETCETERA THEATRE, directed by GRAHAM CHRISTOPHER
ABSENT FRIENDS by Alan Ayckbourn THE ROSE TAVERN, directed by GRAHAM CHRISTOPHER.
THE MEMORANDUM by Vaclav Havel THE VILLAGE THEATRE Cricklewood, transferred to CARLTON STUDIOS, EDINBURGH, directed by CATHERINE WIGGLESWORTH (Three of the roles were ‘regendered’ in this production and nobody noticed)
AFTER MAGRITTE and A SEPARATE PEACE both by TOM STOPPARD THE HEN AND CHICKENS directed by JILL BROOKE (One role in After Magritte and two in A Separate Peace were ‘regendered’ too, and yes - nobody noticed)
AFTER MAGRITTE by Tom Stoppard, Corner Theatre, Highgate.
Directed by JILL BROOKE
PETER DAHLSEN (Reginald Harris)
SHEILA BRYANS (Thelma Harris)
‘…razor sharp timing and crisp attention to detail.’ THE STAGE
ABIGAIL’S PARTY Mike Leigh – Timezone Theatre Company
Etcetera Theatre & Rose Tavern, Chelsea
Directed by Graham Christopher
HELEN ALEXANDER (Beverly)
SHEILA BRYANS (Ange)
‘A dance sequence to end all dance sequences.’ TIME OUT – THEATRE ‘Hilarious… brilliant interpretation.’ NIGHTLIFE
Helen and Noni had managed to secure a tiny grant for the first production, from The London Boroughs’ Grant Scheme, and thereafter, business sponsorship, which allowed Timezone to pay their company members Equity minimum wage, but we were still on the Fringe, and it was too good to last. Fate delivered a crushing blow. After ‘the Black Friday stock-market crash’, our commercial sponsor had to withdraw their support, and Timezone was put on the back burner.
A few years past, and Helen had been teaching and directing at THE DRAMA STUDIO, LONDON, THE LONDON ACADEMY FOR PERFORMING ARTS, and at THE ACTOR’S INSTITUTE, where the stark reality of female to male student ratios, was ever evident; and this, along with PROFESSOR HELEN THOMAS’s accurate but frustratingly obvious report on the gender inequality issue in the industry, were the factors which reignited Helen Alexander’s zest to draw attention to, and initiate change. So she relaunched TIMEZONE, and with Noni’s assistance, produced and directed a one hundred percent cross-cast version of…
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SAINT JOAN by Bernard Shaw CHELSEA THEATRE, Kings Road.
By this time, the nibbling-round-the-edges safety net had been chucked on the bonfire – liberating? yes, but the company were back to ‘profit-share’ contracts. Helen was keen to illustrate the inadvertent sexism, both in the industry, and in historical drama, with its knock-on effects on modern society, so she negotiated the performing rights to produce Shaw’s SAINT JOAN with every role therein, cross-cast; Joan was played by MARK DAVIDSON, and the roles of all the male characters who both fought beside her, and who condemned her for heresy, were portrayed by women actors. This production at least, was noticed. It was warmly received by members of THE SHAW SOCIETY, who invited Helen to make a presentation about it. She was also invited to discuss the issues on BBC RADIO WORLD SERVICE, on NEWSNIGHT, hosted by GAVIN ESLER, and to debate the industry angle with MARK RYLANCE on JENNI MURRAY’s WOMEN’S HOUR. Both MARK RYLANCE and JENNI MURRAY came to watch the production.
“You’ve given me something to think about” MARK RYLANCE
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The following season, the WOMEN’s COMPANY was introduced at SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE THEATRE.
“It felt like a triumph! I thought I’d planted the seeds of change” HELEN ALEXANDER
It turned out to be nothing more than a minor ripple in the ocean of stubborn reality though, and didn’t pierce any noticeable cracks in the glass-ceiling either for Helen, nor for her female colleagues or student graduates.
SAINT JOAN by Bernard Shaw, Chelsea Theatre.
Directed by HELEN ALEXANDER
MEG KUBOTA (The Dauphin)
MARK DAVIDSON (Joan)
“It made me view the play in a new light. You’ve given me something to think about” MARK RYLANCE
LOVE’S LADIES LOST Shakespeare – Academy
Directed by HELEN ALEXANDER
100% regendered - Male to Female & Female to Male
NADIA OSTACHINNI (Bronwen, formerly Berowne)
ELLIOT JAMES (Kasparin, formerly Katharine)
CLAIRE MECZES (Boyette, formerly Boyet)
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Set in 1970 at the height of the Women’s Liberation Movement, four students, sharing a feminist commune, known as The Estate, give up all contact with men, to concentrate on study for three years – until a famous rock band turn up!
She continued to teach and direct, by now at THE ACADEMY DRAMA SCHOOL and briefly, at ITALIA CONTI. Working with students of all genders, was very rewarding, and a constant inspiration, as drama students are universally keen to learn, to be creative, and perhaps a touch too optimistic about their future prospects.
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“It was a delight to be facilitating the development of their skills, especially while directing them in Shakespeare’s plays”.
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Always conscious of the historical legacy, inherited from the prejudice which had for centuries criminalised the notion of women performers, Helen made a point of casting her student productions as creatively as possible. To begin with, it was cross-casting which predominated, but ever aware that this could be considered patronising, or viewed with ‘suspension-of-disbelief’ by audience members, she turned more and more towards ‘regendering’.
“Regendering is a word I invented, to define the process of rewriting the gender of characters at script level (not to be muddled with ‘cross-casting’) – ‘she for he’, ‘Lady for Lord’, ‘wench for fellow’, ‘bodice for doublet’, and vice versa; even ‘pen or fan, for sword’ in Love’s Labours’ Lost, where the weapon, and it’s use, are both phallic, and used as a metaphor for masculinity.”
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Helen encouraged the use of this new terminology by her students, in the hope that, once graduated, they might collectively be a conduit by which to pepper the industry with the concept. But time ticked by, and still nothing changed. So in 2007, once again set about her quest for gequality.
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Starting with her own private survey of all the grant-funded producing houses across the UK and ROI, she collected the expected evidence, along with another eye-opening factor. Many of these theatres, adhering to the ‘PC’ directive for monitoring, were doing so, only from their all-departments employment records, with no regard for the gender ratio of the characters they presented on stage.
JULIA CAESAR Actors’ Institute (Glasshouse Studio)
Directed by HELEN ALEXANDER
100% female cast
ADEOLA AGBEBIYI (Julia Caesar)
’impossible to say how much fun & use this has been, without sounding totally obsequious & sycophantic. Million thanks’ ADE
A SEPARATE PEACE by Tom Stoppard, Corner Theatre, Highgate.
Directed by JILL BROOKE
PETER DAHLSEN (The Patient)
HELEN ALEXANDER (Nurse)
‘…convincing and versatile performances.’ HACKNEY ECHO
50:50 -The year of women in theatre
– No – it didn’t happen! …but an inspired idea, nonetheless, and in 2008/2009 Helen really put her nose to the proverbial grindstone to try and activate the idea across the industry. It was a simple, and easily achievable goal, or so she thought.
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She opted for a double pronged approach:-
Firstly, face to face meetings with the Directors of the five Arts Councils (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) Secondly, to publicise, & invite an enormous number of industry professionals to ‘ignition’ discussions in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Dublin. (Helen achieved this with the help of an anonymous, beneficent, donor from Northern Ireland, who paid for two hundred pounds’ worth of travel expenses.)
Honoured to have been granted the meetings she’d requested, with Directors of the various national funding bodies, or theatre departments therein, she presented the case for change…
“I simply highlighted the issues to them, none of which caught them unawares, and very politely but insistently, asked them to amend their grant-making policies and to require adequate monitoring by funded theatres.’
Their collective responses were apparently in sympathetic agreement with the proposals, but seemed to be laden with avoidance:
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[The following phrases, are not accurate quotes, but summed up synopses of what was said, or implied, taken from notes I took, during and immediately after each of the Arts Council meetings – Helen Alexander]
ENGLAND As a gesture of goodwill, ACE is willing to offer you a couple of hours in our meeting room, to invite industry representatives for a discussion, but we are not a political organisation; we cannot implicitly or explicitly support your proposals. Nor must you implicitly or explicitly, inform either those industry professionals, or the media, that that is the case.
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WALES Many of our grant contracts are issued across a three, or five year term, and many of those companies we’ve recently supported will by now, have actors under contract for that whole time. We’re also anticipating a new government directive soon, so our hands are tied until then.
SCOTLAND I’m retiring from my post soon, and it will be up to my appointed successor to implement policy. I suggest you take it up with him, next year. Sorry not to be more helpful.
NORTHERN IRELAND We’ve recently introduced a robust new policy initiative, to even out the balance of representation between the Republican and Unionist communities, I truly regret that adding gender at this point, would confuse the issue.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND We have absolutely no money in the coffers, which renders us impotent. Our staff have all been made redundant, and I expect the same outcome for myself. Even our tenancy in this building is now untenable.
THE MEMORANDUM by Vaclav Havel, Carlton Studios, Edinburgh & Village Theatre, Cricklewood
Directed by CATHERINE WIGGLESWORTH
IAIN MACRAE (Clerk)
NONI MAGDANZ (Miss Thumb formerly Mr Thumb)
DEREK HOWARD (Josef Gross)
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‘soaked in humour’ FESTIVAL TIMES ‘…nervy, hard-bitten hilarity’ TIME OUT Critic’s Choice. ‘highly crafted & highly recommended’ THE SCOTSMAN ‘…enjoyable but mildly disturbing romp through a sea of bureaucracy’ INDEPENDENT
LOVE’S LADIES LOST Upstart Crows
Directed by HELEN ALEXANDER
100% regendered
BETH WILLIS (Dumaine formerly Dumain)
BRIONY RAWLE (Lavinia formerly Longaville)
The second strategy, was to hold meetings with any Artistic or Casting Directors and industry professionals, keen, or at least willing to discuss, the idea of programming a widely publicised …
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50:50 – Year of Women in Theatre.
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“It turned out, I was only preaching to the converted” HELEN ALEXANDER
GILES CROFT – AD of Nottingham Playhouse, MURIEL ROMANES - AD of Stellar Quines, HANNAH MILLER – [then Assistant] Casting Director RSC, were the only high-profile influencers who took part in these discussions. Mostly the meetings were attended by members of fringe and profit-share companies, unemployed female actors and a lovely young writers’ group in Dublin. The meetings were full of friendly enthusiasm and positivity. In the end though, it was hard to swallow, but the participants simply didn’t have the influential clout, or financial sweeteners, needed to advocate change by the major (funded) Programmers.
Helen continued with the day-job until, sadly, The Academy Drama School met its maker, some time after founding principal TIM REYNOLDS passed away.
“You turn Shakespeareophobes into Shakespeareophiles” TIM REYNOLDS
“ Best compliment ever!” HELEN ALEXNDER
Redundant but unperturbed, Helen once again set about her quest for change, this time with her colleague, Voice Tutor and Director, LISA DORAN. They started a women’s workshop organisation a few years ago, called UPSTART CROWS (a name which had to be ditched after Ben Elton created his brilliant TV series!) with a view to producing regendered Shakespeares, beginning with a one hundred percent ‘regendered’ version of LOVE’S LABOURS LOST, a play which, of itself, comments on gender-disparity. The project would have been a reworking of one of Helen’s former student productions, this time, they aimed to start with some filmed scenes to present to ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND as part of a funding bid.
It was during this period that Helen and native Scot, LISA DORAN, began discussions about the unfinished legacy of Shakespeare’s MacBeth, and the un-named women therein, which eventually inspired Helen to write THE WEYARD SISTERS, and launch the new company… EFFEMERA… the next chapter in the campaign.
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“Revealing the factual and fictional herstory that was always there.”
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Very sadly, the lovely LISA DORAN shuffled off this mortal coil before she got to read or participate in it, but Helen used the surname Deorraghan for one of the characters, as a tiny tribute to her.
LOVE’S LADIES LOST Upstart Crows Trailer
Directed by HELEN ALEXANDER
100% regendered
REBECCA WIELAND (Antonia Dull – formerly Athony)
DANIELLE JOHNSON (Costard)
KELLY EVA MAY (Queen Fernanda – formerly King Ferdinand)