BACKGROUND TO THE PLAY

               In order for gender E=quality to exist it requires the 

                        Enlightenment of men and boys and the

                                       Empowerment of women and girls !!

E=Quality – a play designed to hasten the progress of gender equality.

And to reduce violence against women and girls! 

The United Nations says that domestic violence and rape are a consequence of the normalization of violence against women and gender inequality. They also say that gender equality is over 120 years away, which will see millions more women abused and murdered. Who can live with that statistic???

E=Quality is a play about the continuing relevance of feminist action in a world where sexual harassment, coercive control, rape, paedophilia, intimate partner violence and the murder of women and girls are far too commonplace. It is designed to introduce all audiences to the facts and dangers of gender inequality and to support and empower all women and girls who are living and dealing with the consequences of those behaviours that are the product of gender inequality. There is also a modified, shorter version of the play designed for senior high school audiences with a special section on consent.

FOR WHOM?

1. For general public audiences. Duration = 1hr 45 (incl. interval) 

2. For senior high school audiences – it is planned that students would be given before and after questionnaires to complete for measurement of any change in attitude and that there would be a Q + A with a psychologist and police personnel post the performance. Duration = play 70 mins + Questionnaires and a Q+A session = 2 hrs Total.

3. The difference between the two versions is that:

a) the general public version covers topics from the  background and history of  inequality  towards women and specific topics such as domestic violence, workplace harassment, rape and hard core porn 

b) the schools version covers the history and background of inequality as above, workplace harassment and rape but then focusses on the subject of consent finishing with 2 actors working through the topic in what is virtually a tutorial on consent.

 WHY A PLAY? 

Handling this material in a play offers the audience (particularly high school  students) an original and innovative way to consider sensitive issues such as their own sexual conduct as they watch the actors struggle with these concepts. It’s a depersonalised method to deal with the personal. The ancient Greeks invented theatre as they understood that so much more is learned from “seeing” as well as “hearing”. Additionally a play can be performed night after night, city after city region after region, and can be filmed and distributed or performed by other groups.

E=Quality may be the first play I have written, but it has been in development for over 40 years. From my time as a rock’n’roll agent, where women were either invisible or a Groupie to 50 years later when it’s still not safe for me to wander wherever and whenever I want, I have been observing, experiencing, fighting and making notes that have culminated in this play.
The play itself has been developed over a number of years with research and input from informed sources such as teachers, psychologists, actors, the director, organisations working in this space and a range of general public.

FINAL NOTE

Through the medium of artistic theatre, E=quality’s plays are designed to  
confront and inform, challenge behaviours and change ideas. It is a theatrical documentary with characters bringing real world scenarios to life. As previously said, we learn so much more when we both see and hear information simultaneously, and E=Quality is an exciting experiment to present vitally important information in an innovative and memorable way.

#charity organizations #not for profit #promoting equality

Three women – a magistrate, a prosecutor and a court transcriber - meet daily in their workplace. Inevitably the conversation turns to women’s issues since two of them are ardent feminists, although the third is not really committed to the cause. They lament the lack of progress towards equality and the increasing abuse and violence against women and wish for a world that is full of equality for everyone, everywhere.

That wish takes them into a surreal domain where they find they have powers that permit them to “try” a gang rapist. Also on this journey in the nether world they find an amazing ally in the Devil. He has surprising information on the origin of gender inequality, and he takes up their cause with gusto, (or does he?).

We also follow the progress of the “uncommitted” woman’s daughter from her campus rape and workplace harassment.

By the end of the play our young rapist is put through a harrowing, surreal trial for his wanton rape of a young girl and then finally learns the real meaning and application of the concept of consent and respect.

Through the medium of artistic theatre, E=quality’s plays are designed to confront and inform, challenge behaviours and change ideas. It is a theatrical documentary with characters bringing real world scenarios to life. The ancient Greek dramatists understood that it is not enough to just hear information – we learn so much more when we see it at the same time, so too will students learn as they watch the actors struggle to understand the conflicts. 

*Please note – The School’s version is a modified version of the full length play. 

#charity organizations #not for profit #promoting equality