The Vagina Monologues

Norwich Playhouse

When Eve Ensler first conceived The Vagina Monologues (sorry, pun not intended) could she have imagined the success it would be?

This little play, which started out as a vague idea in one woman's head, has stormed audiences from Jerusalem to New York, to Norwich.

Why? Because it reinvents that horrible word 'vagina', making it sound attractive rather than faintly medical and unappealing? Perhaps.

Or, because we love to see a taboo explode on stage before us? Maybe.

Or then again, because the stories Ensler collected and turned into monologues came from real people revealing things about themselves which were funny, true and often poignant? Almost certainly.

The point is that this collage of female experiences seems to pull us all together, and unusually for an event of this kind, it doesn't cut men out of the equation, or turn them into monsters.

The last time I saw the show it was at the Arts Theatre in London with Miriam Margoyles. And it's been a vehicle for a whole host of stars since then.

This line-up of relative unknowns (Abi Roberts, Annette McLaughlin and Jan Shepherd) were a bit bawdier than the last gang I saw, but packed just as much punch!