A play that was banned for 30 years is coming to the Rickshaw April 22 to 27.
Director Marisa Smith wanted to produce Mrs. Warren’s Profession in the Downtown Eastside because it resonates with what’s happening with sex work today.
Smith was working the night shift at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre when she read the 121-year-old George Bernard Shaw play that raises questions about prostitution and indicts gender inequality.
“There’s a speech at the end of Act 1 where Mrs. Warren talks about why she started in prostitution and it basically came down to that she had no other options in terms of feeding herself and clothing herself,” Smith said. “And many of the women that I was working with at the shelter, that’s what they were going through, they’re surviving.”
Shaw’s play became even more relevant to modern times after the Supreme Court struck down Canada’s prostitution laws in December.
“Now we’re going through a period of examining what the next set of laws should be… that becomes more of a question of values. Shaw was playing with that, too,” Smith said. “What he was trying to articulate is that it’s society in general that’s proposing these economic laws that allow women to be so marginalized that they end up doing this, so it’s a much bigger issue.”
Smith, artistic producer of Alley Theatre, decided the production should be presented not only in a way that entertains with live music and costumes mixing vintage-style corsets with exposed zippers, studs and PVC, but also informs with an interactive website that includes five mini documentaries.
Smith, who won the Joanna Maratta Award for displaying promise to affect the Vancouver theatre community, wants visitors not only to have a good time but also to feel more informed when conversations about sex work arise. Along with the website, the production will host a panel discussion with representatives of two organizations that serve sex workers following the matinee performance on April 26.
Linda Quibell plays “Kitty” Warren, who has secretly worked as a prostitute and brothel owner to put her daughter, played by Melissa Oei, through the best boarding schools. But when Vivie learns of her mother’s profession, the two strong-willed women battle over what it means to be a modern woman.
Shaw’s play, which he wrote in 1893, explores capitalism and politics. “And then it’s embedded in this witty, light, fun piece,” Smith said.
She has ditched the old-school dialect and “British-isms” to keep the production accessible to modern audiences.
Visitors to the Rickshaw can grab a drink at the bar, perhaps a special whisky concoction, soak in the live classical music that’s going to be updated with more contemporary sounds by cellist Shanto Acharia of Fond of Tigers, violinist Meredith Bates and harpist Elisa Thorn, and respond to texts that will be projected on a large screen. The play will unfold in four different locations in the Rickshaw.
Alley Theatre enjoys toying with the conventions of traditional theatre. It presented Lost in Place under the big yellow crane on Granville Island, Wicked Shorts and Confessions in cafes.
The Rickshaw is making free tickets available to members of the Downtown Eastside community through the Carnegie Community Centre and $3 from every ticket will be donated directly to WISH Drop-In Centre and PACE Society. Details at mrswarrens.ca.
crossi@vancourier.com
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