Cao Zhen

    caozhen0806@126.com

    THIS week, a new version of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues,” presented by Four Laugh Yamen Theater Studio from Northeast China’s Liaoning Province, was staged in Mandarin at a theater in Nanshan Cultural and Sports Center for three nights.

    As a young and open-minded city, the Shenzhen audience appeared excited about the show, not only occupying most of the theater’s seats, but also energetically shouting “yindao” (the Mandarin for “vagina”) again and again during the show.

    However, female audience members prominently outnumbered male ones. The lack of male attendees points to the conservative beliefs many Chinese men still hold about women’s pubic parts.

    “If they let me sell the show’s tickets, I would only sell them to men,” said Fang Xiaohang, the director of the show, in an interview with the Shenzhen Daily before Tuesday’s performance. “I made this show for the male audience because, in China, women are still in a weak position and are not equal to men. I hope Chinese men gain an understanding about protecting women, and Chinese women should love themselves and stand up for their own rights.”

    Ensler’s celebrated play — “The Vagina Monologues” — is made up of a varying number of monologues read by one to three women in various adaptations. She wrote the play based on he interviews with more than 200 women. She puts together stories from women of different ages and nationalities to explore the cultural aspects of women’s experiences connected to the female sex organ. The play touches on matters such as orgasms, menstruation, masturbation, rape, birth, homosexuality, or simply as a physical aspect of the body. A recurring theme throughout the piece is the vagina as a tool of female empowerment and the ultimate embodiment of individuality.

    The last decade has seen various Chinese versions of the pioneering play performed across China, though the first production in Shanghai was banned in 2004 by officials after hundreds of tickets had been sold, and a 2009 production was forced to call the show “The V Monologues” instead of the full name.

    The play presents a bold challenge to traditional Chinese culture’s public expectations for women. Even though authorized and unauthorized versions have been performed by numerous organizations in China, Fang still faced difficulties when preparing his production.

    “Some actresses turned down my casting invitation because they were afraid of their boyfriends’ reactions,” the 34-year-old director said. “Some of my friends suggested that I should change the show’s title because ‘vagina’ jarred listeners.”

    In some previous Chinese versions, characters extensively used vulgar slang terms for the female genitalia and presented explicitly loud orgasmic moans. Fang decided to present the show in a more poetic way, with emotional utterances, ambient background music and soft stage lighting.

    “I want to display women’s beauty, so I used the three actress’ silhouettes to present the female body and how they reach orgasm. I wanted my version to be more like a drama, so I added dances and role-playing scenes,” said Fang.

    The most striking difference between Fang’s production and Western versions is that he added a male character. The male character appeared briefly on stage, encouraging the audience members to shout “vagina” in the theater.

    “The word ‘vagina’ won’t be demystified if it’s not said out loud,” Wu Wen, who plays the male character, said on stage. “As a man, I call for all men to care for women. With this performance, we want to challenge negative interpretations of women. We should be at ease with the word ‘vagina’ because this organ is not shameful.”

    Director Fang said in the interview that he added the male character because he wanted to show men’s attitudes toward women. He said he watched Ensler’s version on DVD two years ago and cried afterwards. “Ensler’s play made me have a new understanding of women. I become tolerant of lesbians and prostitutes. I think every woman has to make her own choices, and they should respect and love themselves.”

    Fang said when his show toured in Chongqing and Shenyang, the audience members were mainly women or students. “The play captures a crucial moment of change in the way young Chinese women are thinking about their sexuality. I don’t think my play can change Chinese men’s traditional attitudes toward women in a short time. Helping them develop the correct approach toward women takes time,” said Fang.