Play: The Female Monologues
CULTURE
On stage: Monologue + Dance-mime
[notices audience – rises to greet] Oh! Hello there. Nice to meet you. [feet obviously
hurt, she grimaces, and sits back on stool] No. Don’t be alarmed. [indicating bound feet] It’s
just quite difficult to walk, that’s all.
[hears comment] Pardon? NO, of course not!! I’m not “deformed” [laughs]
I am bound! [proudly] My feet are so tiny, now. [admires them] Just like pretty lotus flowers!
I have become a SENSUAL woman.
[proudly] You know my husband didn’t even need to SEE me before our marriage. He just
knew the size of my feet and that was enough for him!! I couldn’t wait for him to see my feet.
Hey! I could hardly wait, myself, to see my feet! I hadn’t seen them properly for about 13 years!
[hears question] These? [holds up slippers] Oh, they’re my pretty embroidered slippers. Do
you like them? Aren’t they just the tiniest, prettiest things? I spent hours and hours and HOURS
embroidering them. Look at my fingers! Tut-Tut! [laughts merrily] Bleeding fingers, bleeding
toes!
[serious tone] Yes, I put my soul into decorating these slippers. They’re like gift-wrapping, in a
way, aren’t they? [laughs] To decorate my poor little feet!
[hears question] Sorry? Was what painful? [listens for question] Oh, of course! [indicates
feet] The binding? [thinks back to the agony involved]
[very seriously] Yes. It stops the bone growth, you see. It has to be very tight. TIGHT! The
binding strips bite into the flesh, cut into the skin. TIGHT! And my toes are curled underneath.
TIGHT! TIGHT! It’s the nail growth which caused the most pain for me. [defensively] It’s not
like that for every girl. [shrugs] I guess I was unlucky. My toe nails became embedded in the
soles of my feet, so they had to……you know…….they had to….. [shakes head at the memory]
My feet got infected, you see. There was pus seeping out all the time….it was… [softly}
Yes….it was….appalling.
[listens for question again] What?
[angry] BECAUSE it’s our culture! It goes back to the time of the courtesan. [shrugs in doubt]
I don’t know! But YOU don’t understand, how could you? Anyway, what about you in your
corset? Not to mention your ridiculous crinoline dresses! [very angry] You’re just as much a
trussed chicken as I am. You’re telling me I’m being repressed. What about you?
[hears placatory tone] Yes, yes, OK!
- takes time to calm down [fake happy tone] As far as I’m concerned, it was all worth it. My feet are now the same size
as they were when I was 5 years old. Now, isn’t that some achievement? Well?
[demanding]…..isn’t it? Isn’t it? [angry] Isn’t it?
Marriage
On stage: Young Fiancee + Venus
Fiancee:
Venus:
F:
Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
I can hardly believe it!! My time has come at last…..I AM GETTING
MARRIED TOMORROW! I AM GETTING MARRIED TOMORROW!
Congratulations! Well done you! [Hi-five]
I have been chosen…..I’ve been selected. I have succeeded.
[jumps down from stool] YES!! I’ll be somebody’s wife….!!!
Yes, dear, calm down! Now, are you absolutely sure this is what you want?
There’s still time to escape, you know.
[laughs delightedly] Let me tell you, between this tight cheongsam and these
high shoes, I’m not going anywhere fast! [laughs again]
Anyway, why on earth would I want to run away from marriage? It’s what I’ve
always wanted. [serious tone] What I’ve heard my parents praying for all my life.
Yes, of course, it must be a tremendous pressure lifted from them.
Bless them - they found someone for me. He thinks I’m pretty enough so he’s
agreed to marry me. And he’s very agreeable to my dowry.
Ooooh! Tell me all the romantic details – go on!
Well, the first time I met him was at our home. He came with his parents. Mother and I
spent HOURS – simply HOURS – fixing my hair…
Putting on the war paint…?
Layers of the stuff…! [laugh together]
[sighs] And what did he say when he first saw you – such a creation of
loveliness…..
[with great pride] He said, “Yes, OK, I’ll take her”.
Success! What an achievement! Oh, well done! [Hi five again]
[smiles faintly] And my dear, dear parents were so proud.
So relieved, I’d say!
Yes!!! [both laugh] [serious tone] But not as relieved as I am!
- Both pause and remain serious –
Come now – let me give you some advice on this marriage of yours!
OK. But, what exactly do you mean? I’ve got my husband now, haven’t I?
Yes, dear. But you have to KEEP him, don’t you?
Oh? [understanding] Oh.
Yes, precisely. You MUST, and this is absolutely vital, maintain your looks.
Remember – lipstick and rouge are your best friends! Otherwise….
[frightened] Otherwise what?
Well, you come from a long history of concubines, dear. You work it out!
Oh…..yes…..well!
Then there’s the home environment.
What about it?
You have to create it AND maintain it. No hardworking man wants to come
home to a messy house, does he? A cosy house is conducive to a cosy marriage I
always say.
[hesitant] Right.
Right! Sweep floor, scrub floor, change beds, make beds, wash laundry, hang-out
laundry, iron laundry, dust furniture, polish furniture, clean windows, sweep
stairs, wash-up dishes, scrub pots, plump-up cushions, pick flowers, arrange
flowers….
Stop!
But that’s just it! You can’t stop. You must MAINTAIN a homely
F:
Venus:
F:
Venus:
F:
Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
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Venus:
F:
environment. [pause]
I will! I will!
You can cook, can’t you?
Yes of course I can cook…….
Well thank goodness for small mercies….!
It’s just I don’t enjoy it.
Enjoy? What’s to enjoy? It’s your wifely DUTY. I’m just here to ensure that
you know all about the duties you are about to undertake.
Well, one thing I DO know is that it’s easier to be a husband than a wife.
[laughs softly] But that’s the way of the world, dear. Now, my final word of
advice – well, warning actually. You MUST get pregnant immediately. There
has to be a son – and that’s down to you. It may take a while you know.
It may?
Honestly! There’s no guarantee that you’ll have a boy first. Even second. Even
at all!
Oh God. I hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Well you better start thinking about it now! Unwanted pregnancies have to be
dealt with…..and it can be pretty traumatic you know. Believe me!
[very frightened now] Traumatic????
Indeed yes. You have to psyche yourself up for terminating a pregnancy if it is
believed you are carrying a female foetus. [sees her distress]
But, come now! You know all this, don’t you?
I just didn’t think about it. I just wanted to get married.
All I’m saying is – your battle is not yet won. Marriage is not only about getting
a husband. [adopts cheery tone] However, YOU are half way there – aren’t you?
Yes. [happier] Yes. [confident] I’M GETTING MARRIED TOMORROW!
I’M GETTING MARRIED TOMORROW.
[clapping softly]
[very serious tone] I’m going to be somebody’s wife
On stage: Barbie + Yang Kwei-Fei
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YkF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YkF:
Barbie:
BEAUTY
[video slides of beauty products]
Hi! My name’s Barbie. What’s yours?
I beg your pardon?
I’m Barbie! And you are?
My name is Yang Kwei-Fei. But you won’t know me.
Why do you think that?
I don’t mean to offend you. I simply doubt that you know about me.
You mean, because I look like candy-floss and sound like an air-head you
assume my lipstick has a higher IQ than I do?
Well………
Actually, I know quite a bit about the highly detailed and documented
Tang Dynasty in 7th century China.
[very surprised] You surprise me! I just assumed you wouldn’t….
[sighing] yes, unfortunately, that’s the general assumption.
Well, you don’t help yourself – do you?
[breathy] I’m sorry?
YKF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YFK:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YkF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YFK:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YFK:
Barbie:
YFK:
Barbie:
YFK:
Look at how you’re dressed?
Oh……Isn’t it divine? I just love pink….it’s my absolute favourite
colour….the whole world should be pink…. I got it during the New Sale
at Joyce…
It’s positively indecent!
[squealing] Nooooo You are a silly little woman! It’s not indecent it’s sexy. You see, I am a sex symbol!
[sighing] Yes……How terribly wrong it’s all gone.
[breathy] I’m sorry?
I WAS the original sex symbol. It’s all about being submissive and
demure – not right in the face! It’s about tempting – not flaunting. It’s
about being comfortable with your body…
EVERYBODY is comfortable with my body!
But you’re not!
[breathy] I’m sorry?
Look at you! – all skin and bones.
[tinkling laugh] Noooooo. You are a silly little woman. I’m thin.
You’re starving.
I’m slim.
You’re neurotic.
[breathy] I’m sorry?
Why do all you young girls have to be so obsessed about slimming?
[cheerful] Because we’ve been brain-washed by patriarchal society into
realizing the male stereotype of beauty.
[smug] Precisely.
[confrontational] Well, you’re one to talk!
I didn’t need to be skinny to be a femme fatale. You didn’t hear about me
swallowing opium just because I was voluptuous!
But you NEEDED to be voluptuous, didn’t you. As hard as I work at
staying slim, you had to work just as hard to maintain your…….curves.
[outraged] I’m NOT curvy – I am voluptuous.
But only because it was the trend of your time. That’s what the Emperor
wanted women to look like so you had to maintain that image. Miss
Curves, 8th Century AD!!!! [clapping & cheering]
I was not a mere sex symbol. I was a femme fatal! [proudly] Indeed yes.
I was a very dangerous woman! I distracted the Emperor from politics
and – oh - what conflicts I caused within the ring of
power!!
Look how proud you are of yourself! Why can’t I be proud of being a sex
symbol?
Because you look ridiculous!
[shocked] You’re wearing as much make-up as I am!
I’ve used colour on my lips - not collagen. My cheek-bones are rouged –
not raised. I haven’t tortured my eye-brows into extinction. I haven’t
IRONED my hair! And we didn’t DO Botox back then…..
There’s nothing wrong with making the most of yourself.
There’s nothing left of yourself! You’re so zipped-into that dress you can
hardly breath. A girl with bound feet can walk faster than you can in those
stilettos. And you’ve removed any hint of personality from your face….
[upset] How can you say that to me!
[placatory] Look, I don’t mean to offend.
Barbie:
YFK:
Barbie:
YFK:
Barbie:
YFK:
Barbie:
YKF:
Barbie:
YFK:
Barbie:
[sarcastic] Yeah!
I just want to point out how women have taken this beauty issue too far.
You’ve all gone way over the top.
What a hypocrite you are. You’re sole occupation was to please the
Emperor!
Yes and you’re sole occupation is to attract every single man you meet!
[puzzled] No. I have a professional occupation.
[surprised] You do?
Of course! I have an Honours Degree in Building & Design.
I run my own architecture firm.
What?
I’m an architect for goodness sake. AND a sex symbol.
Oh!
So put that in your opium pipe and smoke it!
* * * * * * * * * *
Modern Pressures
On Stage: Teenager + sub-conscience
Teen:
Good afternoon. I understand you want to hear what it’s like being a typical HK
teenager today. Well, apparently, I’m your typical teenager!! What can I tell you?
Sub-conscience:
[sarcastic] A lot!
Teen: I’m really lucky. I go to a great school – I’m sure you’ve heard of it. That’s why
I’m lucky – coz I got offered a place there after F5.
S-C: Yeah, right! Lucky old you!
Teen: My parents are terrific. They’re so supportive. You know, if I need tutorial help
– and I do – no problem! They pay for the very best.
S-C: Wait until you hear how often she goes…
Teen: I have a tutorial class every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday straight
after school. That’s a lot of money, isn’t it?
S-C: [sarcastic] It sure is a lot of time, isn’t it?
Teen: Basically, I spend from 8.00am to 6.30pm in a classroom. And that’s not to
mention homework and research.
S-C: She’s completely exhausted!
Teen: Sure it’s tiring [laughs] But you get used to it. [really pleased] Because I’m
working towards something. You see, I’ve got the AL exams ahead!
S-C: Aghhhh!!!!
Teen: But I can manage the exams coz, like I said, I’ve got great support and extra help.
[proudly] I’m going to University – to medical school. That’s my goal.
S-C: She means her parents goal.
Teen: My parents really really want me to do medicine because both my grandfather and
my father are doctors. They want me to carry on the family tradition.
S-C: And they haven’t got a son – that’s the crunch! They haven’t got a son so SHE
has to do medicine whether she wants to or not…
Teen: [secretively] To be honest, I’m much more interested in teaching, education, but Dad
says it’s a very female area and that I should aim for higher than that!
S-C: See?
Teen: [resigned] I AM their only child so, I guess it’s the least I can do.
S-C: What about what THEY can do for HER?
Teen:
S-C:
Teen:
S-C:
Teen:
S-C:
Teen:
S-C:
Teen:
S-C:
Teen:
S-C:
Teen:
S-C:
Teen:
S-C:
Teen:
S-C:
Teen:
At the weekends I usually have LOADS of homework. But Dad helps me as he’s
good at Maths. Then I meet my friends and we hang out. [shrugs] It depends.
[sarcastic] Oh yes! It sure does depend…..like, on where she’s allowed to go,
whom she’s allowed to go with, how much money she’s allowed to spend, what
movies she’s allowed to see, what she eats, where she eats, what time she has to
be home, what bus she takes, what top she wears, what….... [takes deep breath]
My parents monitor me quite a lot [nods to herseslf]. Well, they have to.
[almost secretively] You see, I used to be WILD. [laughs]
[surprised] Really? Wild? [sarcastic] No, not really!
They called me “rebellious” at school. [laughs] I was actually quite proud of it!
[seriously] But I’m not any more.
[bitterly] Oh no, not anymore. She has “seen the light”.
[shrugs] I don’t know – I guess I just flipped out a bit. Caved in to all the
pressure…..it was quite stressful I can tell you
Study…study….STUDY.
[shrugs off memory] Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up. I don’t want to talk
about it, OK?
Her parents freaked out. [bitterly] The school freaked out – I mean, she
wasn’t that BAD. She skipped classes – She HAD to!
[very quietly and seriously] I thought I was going to scream and never stop
screaming.
- screams loudly [happier tone] But Mom and Dad are great now. They’re helping me through
this. Dad drops me off at school in the morning. Mum meets me outside the
tutorial centre and we go home together.
They have to know where she is every minute of every day.
It’s hard on them, you know. Who needs to baby-sit a 17 year old?
Please! When she’s out with her friends, they come to meet her after her curfew!
My friends just don’t get it – Mom and Dad want so much for me! And they’re
helping me to achieve it. You know, my ambition…[dubious]…. university…..
and all that……….
All that REPRESSION. [angrily storms off stage]
[cheery tone] So…! There you go! I’m just your typical HK teenager!
____________________________________________
On Stage:
CAREER WOMAN
Voice-over, Career Woman
S:hrink: Good afternoon! Nice to see you again. Sit comfortably and we’ll have a
long chat shall we?
CW:
I wish I had time for long chats! At every tick of your watch, my
company is making millions. I’ve just left a crucially important meeting
to come here and I’ve got a conference call in exactly one hour from
now! Then there’s a cocktail party for clients at 5.00, followed by a
must-have facial. Who’s got time for “chats”?
Shrink:
So, why are you here?
CW:
For a repeat prescription of course! You KNOW how stressed I
am….God! You’re supposed to be the best psychiatrist around….I NEED
my Prosac. [deep breath] I simply need a quick prescription for Prosac.
Shrink:
What do you think is causing all this stress?
CW:
Who’s the shrink here?
Shrink:
Well?
CW:
It’s a jungle out there!
Shrink:
What do you mean?
CW:
I have all these roles to play – everybody’s got different demands. It gets
a bit stressful, y’know!
Shrink:
Explain it to me…..
CW:
[takes deep breath] I’m an Executive, right? My employees need
directives….they question me ALL the time, they test me ALL the time,
they push me ALL THE TIME.
Shrink:
But isn’t that to be expected - you are the boss after all….
CW:
Yeah, but I’m also a female. I’m their “Lady Boss” so it’s a constant
struggle to prove myself and keep the men off my back. I’m trying to do
my job but I spend most of my time trying to prove that I can do the job better
than any man can.
Shrink:
Shouldn’t that be – “as well as any man can”.
CW:
See, that’s just it! Equality is not good enough anymore. A female in the
Cutthroat world of business has to be one-step ahead. If she’s to make it to the
top….[proudly]….as I have.
Shrink:
Congratulations!
CW:
[self-congratulatory] Thank you. But it’s no bed or roses, I can tell you,
because a lot of it is image. But I have a stylist to help me with that.
Shrink:
That’s nice….
CW:
Not really! He’s a bit of a dictator…..[affects voice] soft colours,
darling….wear it tighter! Higher! More clevage! Shoes? They’re not
shoes – they’re pumps! He drives me crazy……[sighs] But I guess he’s right.
Shrink:
What do you mean?
CW:
Well, I can’t show-up at a power lunch wearing last season’s lines, can I?
Shrink:
I don’t follow….?
CW:
[bitter] They’d say I was frumpy….losing my femininity. I can hear
them now. “Typical! Let a woman play in the men’s world and she’ll try
to become a man….”
Shrink:
Why do you play their game? Why submit to their rules?
CW:
Rules? What rules? Submission? There IS no submission today, dear!
[sarcastic] We’re women of the Millennium or hadn’t you heard?
Shrink:
What about your personal life?
CW:
[groans] Nightmare! My daughter’s doing her teenage thing on me – like
I can cope with that right now? And she’s HORRIBLY extravagant …wants a
3G phone for God’s sake! Who does she think is going to call her anyway?
Shrink:
Justin Timberlake!
CW:
[bristling] See, that’s the kind of sarcasm I get from her. I haven’t got
time for a moody, stroppy teenager.
Shrink:
Perhaps she’s trying to get your attention?
CW:
Well I know that! I don’t need a shrink to point that out to me. Sorry!
But I hear it from my ex-husband all the time.
Shrink:
What does he say?
CW:
“You’re a mother first. A career woman second”….”What kind of a lousy
mother are you?” “Your daughter needs you now more than ever” “Set your
priorities, woman!”
Shrink:
And what are your priorities?
CW:
[defeated] I don’t know anymore. It’s the whole modern female thing,
isn’t it? It’s impossible to give 100% to every role you play, because
they’re all being played at the same time.
Shrink:
Is that why you got divorced?
CW:
[bitter] My husband would tell you yes. He said I didn’t have time to be
a proper wife. What’s a “proper” wife anyway?
Shrink:
Don’t ask me, I’m not married – yet! But that’s a whole other kind of
pressure. Let’s not go into it….
CW:
Take my advice and stay single. You spend years of effort qualifying…. and
years of effort building up a career.
Shrink:
Did your husband complain about it?
Mum:
[bitter] Oh no! Not at the beginning. Not when I was earning enough
money so HE could give up his job and concentrate on being a writer.
Then it was fine to have a “power hungry career woman” for a wife.
That’s what he called me in court – during our divorce, I mean.
Shink:
So what happened?
CW:
That’s just it. I’m not sure…….. [hurt] He said he needed to make an
appointment to have lunch with me. That there was no warmth, no
companionship, no time for family.
Shrink:
So….?
CW:
So he broke up the family! [frustrated] God! It’s so unfair.
[sarcastic] So ironic. [very angry] So chauvenistic.
Shrink:
Do you feel you’ve had to sacrifice too much?
CW:
[uncomfortable] Is that the time! I’ve got to fly….I’m due in the board
room in 10 mins.
Shrink:
What about….
CW:
[gathering her things] the prescription right?
Shrink:
No, not that…
CW:
Get your secretary to call mine to organize the pick-up. OK?
Right. [deep breath] Right. Thanks. OK. Goodbye. Must fly…
**************
FINALE
Footbinding:
Is she a repressed female? Absolutely not. She may have been a victim
of her time and a painful culture. But who hasn’t? Who isn’t?
It didn’t repress her. She lived a contented life – didn’t she?
HK Teen:
Sure! She’s under a lot of pressure – academic, parental, tradition. But
that doesn’t make her a repressed female. If she had a brother, he’d be
under the same pressure, wouldn’t he?
Fiancee:
Yes, she was disillusioned with marriage. She grieved over the needless
loss of three aborted daughters. She grew to accept his succession of
mistresses. She simply got on with the life of typical, ordinary 1920’s
Chinese female. She didn’t see herself as being repressed – did she?
Career
Woman:
She is a strong and capable female of the Millennium. Repressed?
You’ve got to be joking! She has it all – career, marriage, motherhood,
security, money and power!! There’s no such thing as female repression
now! It’s an old-fashioned theory – isn’t it?
Barbie:
She’s very much a female. She knows who she is what she wants to be.
She is in total control of the image she projects. If that’s repression, she
doesn’t mind – does she?
* * * * * * * * * * *