Parking spaces on London Street were hard to find, and the Globe Theatre was full – mostly women, but there were a few bold or curious men there too. We’d come to see Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, directed by Helen Fearnley and performed by Yvonne Jessop, Tarn Felton, Kimberley Buchan and Miriam Noonan.

The Monologues concentrate, of course, on the out-of-sight bits of female anatomy not usually mentioned in polite society and sometimes coyly referred to as “down there.” A show not much more than an hour long packs in a wide spectrum of moods – lyrical, poignant, moving, funny, triumphant, but taking darker turns when medical indignities are aired, or when the horrors of sexual abuse, genital mutilation and rape are revealed. 

The Vagina Monologues is both dated and daring. It was written in 1996 and quickly became a modern classic, but much of its inspiration comes from the early years of the women’s liberation movement in the 1960s and 70s, when consciousness-raising and examining your nether parts in hand mirrors were not just new and exciting but fashionable. As a result, the script occasionally seems corny or even boring. At the same time, however, its bluntness and honesty feel immensely brave. 

The four performers cope with all of this sensitively and magnificently, engaging the audience’s interest and sympathy and steering us confidently through the ickier narratives. At the end the male audience members, even though they couldn’t share in the delight of being women, seemed to be applauding as enthusiastically as everyone else. The short season will finish on Saturday. 

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Yes, The Vagina Monologues is exactly as it seems – a series of monologues about vaginas. Powder Box, Poochi, Coochie Snorcher, Mushmellow, Twat, whatever you call it we’re all on the same page here.  First performed in 1996 this play is still staged fairly regularly in theatres and community spaces across the globe; tonight however is my first encounter with it. 

Director Helen Fearnley is to be commended because tonight’s performance is of a pleasingly high standard, contrary to what I have come to expect from the Globe Theatre in recent times. The Vagina Monologues is slick, uncluttered and very thoroughly rehearsed and I urge future Globe directors to learn from Fearnley and her production. 

The space is set up to look like a waiting room, I presume a doctor’s waiting room but we could just as easily be at Family Planning or something of a similar ilk. There are eight chairs, four facing the audience and four facing the back of the stage. There are also two tall noticeboards covered in posters encouraging us to exercise, quit smoking, report family violence etc. Most of the time this space is used to frame the monologues, the play is not set in a waiting room. At times people come and go, sitting and listening to each other’s stories and this works best when the actors acknowledge each other, actively listening and supporting one another on stage.   

What I enjoy most about this production is that these actors are real women – which is kind of the point – and they are not trying to be anything else. We get a sense of each woman’s personality as they share the monologues with us. The actors are really enjoying themselves, laughing with us and acknowledging the truth and universality behind the things they are telling us which makes the audience very comfortable.

Let’s be honest, talking about vaginas isn’t always the easiest topic to broach but Yvonne Jessop, Tarn Felton, Kimberley Buchan and Miriam Noonan make it all very natural. One highlight for me is the way in which the ladies deal with the lists in the script, numerous as they are, I really get a sense that they are discovering things and not simply ‘reciting a list’.  

Each actor brings a very different but lovely quality to The Vagina Monologues. Yvonne Jessop, the typically ‘older’ woman, brings certain nervousness and apprehension to her first monologue as she beautifully shares with us the story of a seventy-two year old woman and her trials and tribulations with her vagina.

Kimberley Buchan possesses a confidant ‘girl next door’ familiarity. Although the ensemble is incredibly strong and the women work together seamlessly supporting one another, I have to say that my favourite performances are those given by Tarn Felton and Miriam Noonan.

Felton and Noonan hit the tone and style of The Vagina Monologues perfectly. They embody the stories they are telling but they retain that slight distance from the characters that this style of theatre requires. They do not simply become the characters but they remain themselves really sharing the stories with us, acknowledging us in the process and enjoying the experience with us without ever losing who they are as people in the process. This is some of the subtlest, most truthful and honest work I have seen from both actors. Congratulations, ladies, on triumphant performances.

If I have one qualm with The Vagina Monologues, tiny as it is, it is the presentation of a Bosnian Muslim woman’s harrowing story. Unlike the rest of the play this monologue seems ‘acted’; Buchan focuses her energy into becoming the character instead of taking a step back and sharing her story with us. This difference slightly stilts the flow of the piece and I feel that more empathy for this woman’s plight could be garnered if the actress experiences the horror of the story alongside us.

However, with only two performance remaining* (a very short three performance season) I do urge people to treat themselves to this very well staged and polished Globe Theatre production; women in particular. The Vagina Monologues deserves full houses so get a group together and head along to support this fantastic cast – I will certainly be telling all of my friends!!

*[This review was inadvertently held over: tonight is the final performance. Apologies – ed]

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