THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
The Cambridge Junction theater has announced it is to present a digital experimental production, Recovering Misogynist, a play written and read by American Rachel Mariner, who lives in Cambridge. You may remember Rachel wrote about her experiences living in the UK ahead of one of her previous productions, Bill Clinton Hercules.
Art and culture has been badly hit by the pandemic and lockdown, but projects like this are enabling writers, performers and directors to tackle big issues in different ways. Recovering Misogynist was recorded in May, and asks some big questions about power and perspective in the #MeToo era. Rachel explains that "When Ronan Farrow broke the Harvey Weinstein story I felt sorry for Harvey Weinstein and this play is me figuring out what the hell was wrong with me. Recovering Misogynist attempts to uncover my own unconscious bias against women – including myself - for an audience. It is, amusingly, the least flattering work I can imagine. "
Translating the production into a digital stream has meant some changes to the plan, but Rachel notes that technology offers a different insight into the piece. "It was written for an actor to perform on stage but has been adapted for now into a digital theatre offering after my local artist collective - Troop - enjoyed the confessional quality of the playwright’s voice in a Zoom reading. Fourth Culture and Twoflix added images of Cambridge in lockdown. It asks the audience to be a kind of jury. See what you decide."
The production will be available to watch from Wednesday, August 12 at 7pm, followed by a post show Q&A. The performance will then be available to stream until August 26, on a pay what you want basis. The trailer for the play is available to watch at vimeo.com/442441434/6f0e259ad2
To buy tickets and to find out more about the production, go to www.junction.co.uk/recovering-misogynist. To find out more about Rachel Mariner and her work, check out rachelmariner.net.