The Rebel Dolls
The Rebel Dolls by Freshold Theatre was a standalone piece that revolved around feminism and equality. It was a site-specific project with audience interaction; an exploration of what it is like to be a woman of the modern day. The performance space was a shop window, the usual purpose of which was exploited as our all-female cast attracted the attention of passers-by, as storytelling mannequins almost. We performed as part of Makeshift Birmingham – a festival that had commandeered the empty shop unit for a three weeks to host various forms of entertainment.
Our director and producer, Hannah Graham was a pleasure to work with. She oozes with passion for delivering political issues through performance art. Our scenes produced vivid imagery for the audiences using striking costume and a variety of props, peeling away at the layers within the Western culture which degrade and exploit women. The final scene tested captive audiences in a confrontational scenario. Our women were all masked, dehumanising them and making them hard to identify with. ‘Buttons’ on the window instructed us to dance when they were pressed; more frantically each time. In a direct and thought-provoking way, the detrimental effect our media and cultural behaviours have on women was conveyed as we got more awkward and ashamed at our responses to the buttons.
A little bit more about The Rebel Dolls here:
