T
he ‘Sisters of Eden’ is a feminist performance
group made up of three young women who
are tackling sexism within society and powerfully
sticking it to the man! We were able to interview
Scarlett O’Reilly, Shannon Mulvey and Georgia
James, who make up the trio, about their project -
‘Volume 1: Blood’.
How was the Sisters of Eden created?
The three of us trained for three years at Rose
Bruford drama school, were heavily involved in each
other’s projects and became very close as friends.
Post graduation, Shannon expressed her passion
to form a feminist theatre collective that would
give the artist an opportunity to express, develop
and empower themselves, and asked Scarlett and
Georgia to come onboard - consequently, the Sisters
of Eden was born.
As a collective formed of three women, we are
very conscious and passionate about our work
expressing a female and feminist perspective, and to
not limit ourselves with regards to traditional theatre
conventions, spaces and content. We are constantly
playing and developing ideas on how to communicate
with our audience - whether that be through imagery,
sound, movement or text - and are always influenced
by our current social and political climate.
Who wrote Vol ume I: Blood?
Volume I: Blood is a shared project. Majority of the text
performed was written by its speaker and every idea
and thought has been an equal collaboration between
the three of us. We rarely say no in the rehearsal
room! When an idea comes around we usually work
it, see if it fits, and then adapt accordingly.
Can you briefly sum up Volume I: Blood?
Volume I: Blood is an explosive, explicit and, at times,
hilarious display of the celebration of women and
our relationship to the society we find ourselves in.
In doing so, we expose sexism and prejudice our
audiences find to be ‘oh so true’. We hope to both
entertain and to educate - particularly reeducate
any preconceived views of feminism and what it
stands for. Volume I: Blood is a political performance
explosion of where we have come and a harsh jolt
into reality of just how far we have to go.
What was your inspiration?
Small pieces of text had been written by us as
individuals long before the company had been
formed. It proved that we had something to say
and when speaking the poems to other women, it
became clear just how familiar this frustration was
amongst our community.
Especially in a time when feminism and women’s
rights are brinking on the edge of the next revolution,
the entertainment industry is still only offering us
one dimensional characters as female actors. “We
must all stand together to fight against the oppressor.
Whether you are directly affected due to your race,
religion, gender, abilities, sex, class, sexuality, or not.
The war was never won by several small units but by
one, undefeatable, united force.”
What do you want people to think/do/feel?
As activists, we want to reeducate our audiences on
feminism - show them that although much progress
has been made, the battle isn’t over just yet. We
want to encourage anyone who believes in equality
to vocally identify as a feminist and deconstruct this
idea that the word is dirty. We want to abolish the
stigma surrounding feminism as ‘man-hating’ or
pushing for superiority and to keep our audiences
thinking about themselves in relation to the problem
being presented. We want to encourage activism,
awareness and create a dialogue to encourage
anyone who finds a sense of empowerment,
liberation, or a realisation, that there are things in
their own life that they can change.
As artists, we try to introduce our audience
to unfamiliar and unconventional forms of
communication. Much of the show is improvised
movement and our interaction with the “blood” is
never rehearsed, giving a sense that anything could
happen. Each and every show is completely different
and the audience actually play a big part in that
difference. They are as much a part of the journey
as we are.
Are there any plans for Volume 2, or any other
projects coming up?
Well... we guess you’ll have to keep an eye out!!
Who are your feminist inspirations?
Some of our favorites would be Gladys Bentley, Audre
Lorde, Naomi Wallace, Jane Addams, Toni Morrison,
Maya Angelou and Angela Davis... it could go on!!
Is performing nude empowering?
When studying the history of feminist performance
art, nudity is frequently used. During the research
and development stages of the production, we had
decided to cover our breasts using chest wraps - a
very uncomfortable and expensive decision. Through
developments in rehearsals we couldn’t understand
the need for them anymore and so decided to
perform the second half of the show semi-nude.
First and foremost, this display is about desensitising
the audience’s perception of the naked female body
on stage, and turning the ownership of your own
body into a weapon.
However, we have become desensitised to it
ourselves. It isn’t and shouldn’t be groundbreaking
and certainly isn’t original! It simply is what it is
and, although it is empowering, it has become more
regularly used in feminist performance work.
In society, the female body is either covered and
denied its primary functions (like breastfeeding), or
it’s stripped and placed upon a pedestal like some
trophy for others to look and touch. We are taking
ownership of our bodies and utilising them in a way
that is completely in our own control.
What have some reactions to your work been?
A man who had never been to the theatre and never
identified as a feminist now identifies himself as one
as his understanding has changed. Many women
have felt empowered by the performance whilst
some are still processing...
One person said that our work is unoriginal and
detrimentative to feminism...Some have asked to
come onboard as a sister!
As long as we start a form of dialogue; or incite some
level of change in their minds, our job has been done.
BY JULIET VANDENSTEEN
June 2017 | Actus | 9