Part of Your World

To get what she wants (travel, experience of another culture),

Ariel must trade in her voice

But, without my voice how can I-

You have your looks!

Your pretty face!

Because a princess from the most powerful, if not only, kingdom under the sea,

Has nothing to communicate with

Beyond BODY LANGUAGE

For as we all know, and has been well documented,

Disney exists to reinforce the patriarchy

And the notion that girls/women are there to be looked at

Not heard

And certainly not to use their skills to expand their horizons

Or fulfill their deepest wishes

Ariel is educated

She is an explorer and hungry for knowledge

I’m ready to know what the people know

She can grasp metaphorical concepts beyond her own experience

What’s a fire, and why does it, what’s the word?

BURN?!

She has a shining shimmering treasure trove,

A complete collection of human paraphernalia

Organized by type

But beyond things, Ariel wants more

Our mermaid heroine has feminist notions of a utopian place/time  

Where educated women have freedom

To do as they please, speak out, and move freely

Betcha on land, they understand

Bet they don’t reprimand their daughters!

Bright young women, always swimmin’

Ready to stand

Clearly these notions don’t come from Daddy

Who would rather Ariel find a nice merman

Settle down

And make merbabies 

Ariel signs the scroll in developed cursive handwriting

Suggesting an education beyond kindergarten level

Unlike her father Triton, who only engages with other species through domination,

(His page is a seahorse, his music director is a crab)

Or banishment,

(Ursula. Can’t have educated powerful women floating around the kingdom. Might give young girls ideas.),

Ariel can relate with other species without power struggle.

Her best friend is a fish

Her teacher is a seagull.

We know Ariel has overcome her childhood conditioning of

Other = evil

And if we go beyond the miracle of cross-species communication

(In the magical world of Disney merpeople can communicate with all forms of aquatic life, and with humans;

Everybody conveniently speaks English)

Why does Ariel not use her many other skills, beyond her body, to communicate?

In all her collection of bottles and human knick knacks

Does she not possess a message in a bottle?

Why doesn’t she write in the sand?

Use seashells to spell out a message?

Use her ability to talk to animals to ask the fireflies to spell it out?

Hi Eric! Remember me? I rescued you!

I’m totes in love with you!

Wanna hang out? 

Beyond the recent reduction of genuine kick-ass feminist role models

To big-eyes, sparkly dresses, and insane privilege

Give me characters who use their wit

And education

To go out into the world

And use their voice

In whatever way they can

To progress and flourish

And inspire those around them to do the same

Now that is something worth singing about. 

The end. 

Blue Stockings at The Globe

from here

Suddenly you find yourself

Inside The Globe! 

The detailed recreation

Of what once was 

Shakespeare's playground

There is a feeling of exhilaration

The theatre has been beautifully re-created
The whole thing is utterly stunning
The grand columns
The box seats

The wide open space on the floor for 

The "Groundlings" 

The long and narrow thrust stage

Cutting through the middle 

The floor is concrete

You try to imagine layers of straw and dust and dirt and grime

At the apex of the stage
A balcony,

Its windows closed for now
It seems Juliet could fling them open and lean over the railing and "ah me" at any moment

The boxes right above the stage with their richly coloured frescoes 

You can imagine royalty sitting there

Sitting to be seen 

Even from the position of the pleb

You really can see everybody 

The audience watching each other

Playing a game of being

The audience 

The way you see sky when you look directly up

There's something dramatic about Shakespeare and sky together

The sky is pale blue

Translucent thin whispy clouds
It's the end of the day
Mild, not too hot, not too cold

Tonight's play is called Blue Stockings

Rear centre stage a small drum kit and a music stand
A small balcony above, more music stands, a trumpet, lights for the musicians

(You forgive the modern intrusion)

The columns have been made to look like book shelves

The play is about the fight for women's access to college education

And the fight

At the end of the 19^thC

For the right for women attending college to graduate

There is something tongue-in-cheek

About a feminist play being produced

At the Globe

It is beautifully produced
It is refreshing to see a genuine issue discussed, dissected
The relevance of women's education
The prejudice we faced
Still face

Through the play we see their struggle

And sacrifice

And we are heart broken

It is easy for a modern day, predominantly white, presumably educated audience to laugh at history

“I can’t believe he just said that!!”

Chortle.

But in this year, the year 2013

University fees are so prohibitively expensive

Many will not be able to attend university at all

Last year a teenage girl was shot in the head

For daring to speak out and fight for her right

To an education

And even still, today, right now

Men continue to try and ultimately control women

Deny access to basic human rights

Blue Stockings offers no solutions

Only that we must go on

Must continue learning

For the sake of learning

To inspire great minds

To allow people to go out into the world and achieve their fullest potential

To understand and to dream

I am incredibly aware of the privilege

That has bought me to be standing in the middle of The Globe

One night at the end of summer

The fact that I am a university graduate

With two degrees to my name

The fact I got to go to school at all

Is a fight

That was won

Before I was born

But is still being fought

In a treacherous warzone

History and story-telling

The stories that have resonated throughout

The Globe

To demand an understanding of history

So that we may imagine

The meticulous re-construction

Of a better place

The end.