Review: The Vagina Monologues

Get ready to shout out loud and be proud to be a woman as the Vagina Monologues is back in town.

It was my second time seeing the three woman stage show, so I knew what I was in for and in no way did Wednesday night’s show disappoint.

For monologue virgins, I should explain that the production created by Eve Ensler is in fact a montage of soliloquies based on interviews of 200 women of all ages and from all walks of life.

We hear from young women exploring the wonders of womanhood for the first time to more distressing tales from victims held at a Bosnian rape camp during the country’s recent conflict.

As usual, the trio pulled no punches in their on stage recreation of the probing interviews.

Su Pollard revelled in being on home turf and had the audience in stitches from the moment the spotlight revealed her trademark glasses until curtain down.

But this was not to say that the rest of the trio were upstaged.

Myleene Klass, famous for her stint in reality spin-off band Hear’ Say, gave an effortless performance that was both hilarious and moving.

Nikki Sanderson, best known for her role as feisty Candice in Coronation Street, had only done the show once before but no-one would have known as she worked the crowd with ease and took her fair share of the laughs.

It goes without saying that the audience were mostly female but a few brave men had crept in and seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as us girls.

This is not a show for the faint hearted but I suggest ladies and open-minded gentlemen across our fair county should catch this show before it leaves town on Saturday.

Review by Heather Hinchley
BBC Nottingham
September 2006