Parking spaces in London St were hard to find, and the Globe Theatre was full - mostly of women, but there were a few bold or curious men there too.
We'd come to see Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, directed by Helen Fearnley and performed by Yvonne Jessop, Tarn Felton, Kimberley Buchan and Miriam Noonan.
The monologues concentrate, of course, on the out-of-sight bits of female anatomy not usually mentioned in polite society and sometimes coyly referred to as ''down there''.
A show not much more than an hour long packs in a wide spectrum of moods - lyrical, poignant, moving, funny, triumphant, but taking darker turns when medical indignities are aired, or when the horrors of sexual abuse, genital mutilation and rape are revealed.
The Vagina Monologues is both dated and daring. It was written in 1996 and quickly became a modern classic, but much of its inspiration comes from the early years of the women's liberation movement in the 1960s and '70s, when consciousness-raising and examining your nether parts in hand mirrors were not just new and exciting but fashionable.
As a result, the script occasionally seems corny or even boring. At the same time, however, its bluntness and honesty feel immensely brave.
The four performers cope with all of this sensitively and magnificently, engaging the audience's interest and sympathy and steering us confidently through the ickier narratives. At the end the male audience members, even though they couldn't share in the delight of being women, seemed to be applauding as enthusiastically as everyone else. The short season will finish today.
The Vagina Monologues
Globe Theatre
Thursday, April 10
- Barbara Frame.
