Tucked away in South Bermondsey is the Penarth Centre, a sort of south London mecca for artists. This building is home to several artistic companies, the London Performance Studios being one.
Radical Rediscovery: Feminist Theatre in Britain 1969-1992 is a new exhibition, curated by Susan Croft of Unfinished Histories. Susan tells me this is their largest exhibition to date and I am astounded by the volume of posters, magazines, scripts and more that are on display. Not only is it impressive that this much has been preserved but it’s rather emotional to see artefacts of feminist theatre collected and proudly presented in this room. I didn’t expect to feel a rising of emotion but I do, just the sight of it alone is moving.
The exhibition seeks to document alternative theatre made by women in the UK, alternative meaning on the fringes, addressing issues that at the time were deemed taboo. A prime example of this would be the flyer for Masterpieces by Sarah Daniels, a play staged at The Royal Court in 1984 that addresses the sexual objectification of women in pornography.
This cultural shift began long before that play. 1968 saw the abolition of Lord Chamberlain’s censorship which catapulted alternative, avant-garde theatre into a sort of renaissance. And what followed was several decades of tumultuous politics, with artists, as they have always done, challenging the dominant socio-political mainstream.
The wall of posters from plays of great feminist theatre makers is perhaps the most striking aspect of the exhibition; they are of course works of art in themselves. As I move across the room, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a golden age for women in theatre, not because it wasn’t hard to be a woman making art, but because there was a rallying, a community united in their belief that women had a place in the arts and what they had to say, needed to be heard.
Images by Mark Blower
As part of the exhibition, there are also two old TV’s, the ones I recognise from my childhood which are kind of retro and cool these days. Whilst I wasn’t able to watch all of the footage, I managed to capture a performance which was particularly humorous. It appeared to be a rehearsed reading of a work in progress, as part of this a man took to the stage, posing as a TED talk host. This satire of women’s place in the world ended with a note of advise; “eat babies, they’re much softer and easier to digest.” Dark and twisted, but in the context, deeply comical and a welcomed moment of satire in a densely factual exhibition.
This is truly a very unique exhibition, uncovering an area of history that might otherwise be forgotten. Whilst I find myself at home in the space, I wonder whether it was curated with accessibility in mind. Personally, I felt all of the accompanying text, integral to understanding the work on display could have been presented in varying ways to make it more digestible. Having said this, I appreciate the exhibition is one founded on research and so there is a lot of information to disseminate.
On the day I visited, the room was full of women. A moment to cherish I thought. Women continue to gather in the shared knowledge that our work is far from done, but those before us have paved the way and the art we make, will continue to bring us together.
Words: Elizabeth Huskisson
