Theatre / feminism
British-German theatre collective tackle the deep roots of medical misogyny
Fish in a Dress are a British-German theatre collective whose work seeks to build connection in an ever-more polarised world.
Their award-winning production The City for Incurable Women is now touring in the UK, and will be visiting The Wardrobe Theatre for three consecutive nights from March 25.
Tracing the roots of hysteria to 1880s Paris, where female patients at a psychiatric hospital must ‘perform’ their condition for the public – the company examines the long tail of ‘madwoman’ stereotypes that still persist today.
Written by Helena McBurney, performed by Charlotte McBurney and directed by Christina Deinsberger, the show offers a queer perspective on a feminist history of medical misogyny, while looking at the impacts for all genders.
Fish in a Dress, The City for Incurable Women
“This is not a new story”, remarks Deinsberger. “It actually is a very old story.
“We can trace the idea of hysteria back to the ancient Greeks. And a lot has changed since then. Specifically with the growth of the feminist movement we feel a battle, a deconstruction of misogynistic stereotypes.
The Fish in a Dress creative team
“Yet right now we feel a strong conservative pushback. Misogynistic narratives gain strength and the credibility, reliability, competence of female identifying people is under attack.
“So we need to look back, we need to understand what happened to understand where we are and how to move ahead.”
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The City for Incurable Women (age recommendation 14+) is at The Wardrobe Theatre on March 25-27 at 7.30pm. Tickets are available at www.thewardrobetheatre.com. Follow @fishinadress for updates.
All photos: Ellis Buckley
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