The Vegan Tigress, written by Claire Parker, and directed by Tracy Collier receives its London premiere this month. It is produced by LynchPin.
“Claire Parker’s new play shines a light on Mary De Morgan, a writer, a woman of independent means, a socialist and an activist. Mary wrote several volumes of fairy tales, tearing up the rule book on expected outcomes for boys, girls and happy ever afters.
She grew up amongst artists and activists in a circle of free-thinking Pre-Raphaelites and was well acquainted with the families of William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, Rudyard Kipling and the Rossettis and would frequently read her stories to their children.
The play celebrates the art and act of storytelling. One of De Morgan’s fantastical tales is woven into this witty reimagining of the moment a formidable ghost from Mary’s past forces her to re-evaluate her own story as she finds herself on the cusp of a life-changing journey.”
Where: Bread & Roses Theatre, Clapham
When: 18 Feb-1 Mar (Tues-Sat, with Sat matinees)
Ticket link: https://app.lineupnow.com/event/the-vegan-tigress
We asked Claire to tell us a bit more about the play and the woman who inspired it.
The play is inspired by Mary De Morgan, born 1850 in Camden Town, and known for her
fairytales and her political activism. What made you choose her?
As soon as I stumbled upon her, I was intrigued as to why nobody had heard of her, myself included, particularly because her lively and unconventional imagination that comes through in her fairytales seems to have gone under the radar in her day, and yet many of the people that she socialised, debated, and worked with are names that we still hear.
Clearly a woman with a bright intellect and a need to share her ideas. How many ideas might she have sown in the minds of those around her?
The conflict between free thinking and the repression of women’s rights affected many during the period Mary was alive. Do you think her story and writing still has a relevance
today?
Her story, yes, absolutely. Repressed and ostracised people all share a heavy burden, not just women’s rights. Any marginalised voice needs to be given a platform to be heard if we are to attempt to live in a more inclusive and compassionate society.
It’s one of those universal human themes that we ought never to tire of exploring.
Mary imbued her fairytale writing with so many important themes, including proto-feminist ideals, which are truly inspiring, especially knowing that they would otherwise have fallen on deaf ears and clearly escaped the critics’ attention.
Tell me about LynchPin Theatre Company – how did you start and what kind of work have
you been developing?
I began collaborating with LynchPin Theatre about 10 years ago when I started creating my own work and this is the third play I’ve written that has been produced alongside their company.
LynchPin has a wonderful ethos and champions hidden voices and themes of forgiveness.
LynchPin celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. We held a party and it was amazing to look back
at all the work and all the people LynchPin have collaborated with.
Jack Lynch and Edie Campbell
founded the company when they had written a play for Edie called Emily Dickinson and I, which successfully toured to great acclaim.
In fact, to celebrate 25 years, Edie performed that show again at The Mill – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford.
There’s a ghost depicted in The Vegan Tigress, and a lost love affair. Why did you choose to
include these imaginary elements within the play?
I wanted to shine a light on Mary De Morgan whilst also celebrating the art of storytelling. Magic realism seemed appropriate.
Spiritualism and seances were very popular at that time, and this seemed the perfect backdrop, especially since the play depicts Mary in her later years just before she leaves for Egypt for health reasons.
I knew I wanted to weave one of her tales through the play and present both the stark facts of her living conditions alongside the richness of her imagination.
The fairytale I chose to feature then informed me of the story behind the two characters: a feminist writer and her antagonist, a highly-offended, tightly-laced, accidentally-summoned ghost, who happens to be the mother of a lover Mary spurned years before.
The title of the play comes from a character in the fairytale that’s woven through the piece.
Are their plans to reshow the play beyond its Bread & Roses run?
Currently, there are no plans to do so. But I didn’t have any plans to do more than the one-off performance that we did in Petersfield last year.
However, the artistic director of The Bread & Roses Theatre happened to come down to see it, and here we are! We’ve developed good relationships
with lots of theatres over the years. So who knows!
The Vegan Tigress plays at the Bread & Roses Theatre, Clapham, London SW4 6DZ from 18 Feb to 1 Mar (Tues-Sat, with matinees on the Saturdays). For tickets visit:
https://app.lineupnow.com/event/the-vegan-tigress.
Images courtesy of LynchPin.