Here we have an experimental digital production written and read by Rachel Mariner, an American lawyer. It is available through Cambridge Junction on a pay what you want basis.
It is a deeply personal piece about Bluebeard and Weinstein, #MeToo and the confessional. Mariner’s own perspective on being a professional woman and understanding the history and role of women as a whole.
Filmed in black and white and running sixty-eight minutes, the filmed images by Fourth Culture Films and Twoflix make Recovering Misogynist much more than a theatre monologue. The visuals are cathartic and challenging.
“The power of the jury … you win fair and square, or you don’t win at all”. The place of protest and the policing of lawful opposition, and why women lose out. Tsunamis, the Arab Spring, the place of justice in the courtroom.
Mariner has a unique perspective on everything that is going on around her: with Recovering Misogynist proving to be a provoking piece about assault, consent, and what’s acceptable, and whether it should be acceptable.
What is power, what is blame? And by the end, in a dreamscape tour, victims, observers, and predators, come together to consider “what were you looking for, Rachel?”
Steffen Wild directs the accompanying film, where perfectly complements the brutal honesty of Mariner’s text – a text which sometimes forces us to recognise not everything, or ever person, can be viewed in simple black and white.
In her journey to become anti-misogynist, Mariner shines a new light on the impact of #MeToo.
Recovering Misogynist is available here until 26 August.