Creative writing students from the University of Gloucestershire performed dramatic monologues for a charity event in support of VDAY 2018.
The evening, entitled ‘a Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer’, is by Eve Ensler, the creator of The Vagina Monologues, a controversial play looking at the rape and abuse of women. It started conversations and became a significant moment in getting people to act to end violence.
VDAY was introduced after the monologues and is the basis of the campaign, raising support and funds to help stop violence against women and girls. Volunteers and students can join the charity by putting on their own benefit events that not only raise money but give education on a subject that many argue is not discussed enough.
“While performing #TheVaginaMonologues is fun, we never lose sight of why we do it, to change [these] statistics. You have that power too…” – @vdaysacramento: https://t.co/PZALNPzxyp. #ThisIsV20#VDay #1BillionRising #RiseResistUnite #RiseInSolidarity #UntilTheViolenceStops pic.twitter.com/7pugusNZYH
— V-Day (@VDay) February 28, 2018
Senja Andrejevic-Bullock, a dramatic writing lecturer at UoG said: “We are at a particular point in history where women’s issues are really in high focus so it seemed like a fantastic time to join this global effort.”
The evening had performances of contemporary literature reenacted by students including pieces of ‘My revolution begins in my body’ by Eve Ensler and ‘Woman Work’ by Maya Angelou followed by a striking video highlighting the work VDAY provides to abused women.
MP Alex Chalk said, “The monologues are intensely powerful in their own right, but were given added force by impressive individual performances.”
The event specifically supported Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS) a local charity which aims to reduce the level of domestic abuse and offer other services to improve the lives of those who are suffering in difficult situations.
Sally Morrissey, support manager of GDASS, said: “The hardest thing that we as an organisation face is to challenge people’s assumptions that its easy to just leave. We are still coming across situations where the victim is blamed for what has happened to her.
She goes on to say, “We have to make perpetrators of domestic abuse much more accountable for their actions. What tonight was really good about was it looked a the underlying problems that women face.”
There were stands from The Nelson Trust and GDASS with more information. The event was very successful with the proceeds of the evening going to the charity.
