The evening of 30 April, 1971 and New York’s Town Hall is electrified. A debate is being staged between Norman Mailer and several prominent feminists: literary critic Diana Trilling, Village Voice writer Jill Johnston, president of the National Organisation of Women (NOW) Jacqueline Ceballos, and a fox fur-draped Germaine Greer, at the height of her fame following the publication of The Female Eunuch. They speak on the politics of the vaginal orgasm, equal pay, the myth of male genius. Continue reading “The Town Hall Affair: Making a show out of the showdown between Germaine Greer and Norman Mailer”
Latest writing
Review: Allelujah!, Bridge Theatre
Alan Bennett’s new play is shot through with his usual humour, although it frequently veers towards the gallows – or the morgue at least. Nicholas Hytner’s taken the 84-year-old playwright with him to the Bridge, and the marriage is as happy as ever: this is smoothly staged, beautifully observed.
Meg Wolitzer’s #metoo novel sets the stage for a generational clash of feminism styles
“The word ‘uncanny’ comes up,” says Meg Wolitzer, of the timing of her novel, The Female Persuasion. “But I don’t think that, because female power and misogyny are ideas that I – and most people I know – have been thinking about for a long time.”
Why Sonoma County makes a great introduction to the California wine scene
California took a battering after last autumn’s wildfires but Sonoma County largely escaped, with just one winery destroyed. The area makes for a relaxed introduction to the California wine scene.
Review: Flight of the Conchords, O2 Arena
“Sorry we’re late.” Flight of the Conchords, aka Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, are back in the UK for the first time in seven years – and three months. Their tour had to be rescheduled after McKenzie fell down some stairs and injured his hand.
Frida Kahlo at the V&A: Forget the £245 flower crowns and lipsticks and look at the work
Could there be a better time for a show about Frida Kahlo? The vision presented at the V&A is a female icon who documented her self, and her suffering. A third of her paintings were self-portraits; she posed for her father’s camera from a young age. An art star for the selfie age.
Andrew Scott: ‘There was no Hamlet rivalry with Benedict Cumberbatch’
Andrew Scott, 41, was born and raised in Dublin. Recently seen in the BBC adaptation of King Lear, he is best known for playing Moriarty in Sherlock, and for starring in Robert Icke’s production of Hamlet, which transferred from the Almeida to the West End last year. In 2008, Simon Stephens wrote Sea Wall – a monologue about grief – for Scott; it is being revived as part of the Old Vic’s bicentenary celebrations.
Smack That: domestic violence survivors celebrate resilience in dance
“I have been fighting for vaginas for a very long time now.” Rhiannon Faith is smiling, but she’s also completely serious. The choreographer’s work, too, exists on this tightrope: her latest show is an immersive dance party about domestic violence.
Sarah Perry on sexism in publishing, why we don’t need ‘strong female characters’, and inventing her own gothic monster
“I genuinely don’t really remember writing the book.” It’s a bold admission for an author to make when discussing their forthcoming novel. Especially if you’re a bestseller like Sarah Perry, whose debut, After Me Comes the Flood, was critically acclaimed, and whose follow-up, The Essex Serpent, was a big fat hit.
Sex With Robots and Other Devices explores what happens when AI meets shagging
Imagine a world where your partner could arrive in an Amazon package. So goes the tagline for Sex With Robots and Other Devices, a new play about to open at London’s Kings Head Theatre.