“Audience members will be seated close enough to touch the performers and viewers will be encouraged to think about the ways they look at women’s bodies – both on film and in the flesh.”

No, that’s not the press release from Wellington Fashion Week. Instead, it’s Lucrece: An Adaptation of Shakespeare’s the Rape of Lucrece, the newest show from Binge Culture Collective. After the jump, you can read the whole press release, which includes 25 naked women but here’s the TL:DR –

Lucrece: An Adaptation of Shakespeare’s the Rape of Lucrece
Toi Poneke Gallery, 61 Abel Smith Street.
Exhibition: Friday 20 April – Saturday 12 May 2012, 10am-8pm weekdays, 10am – 4pm weekends
Live Performances: Thursday and Friday evenings, 19, 20, 26, 27 April; 3, 4 10, 11 May, 6:30pm
Entry by koha. Bookings: bookforlucrece@gmail.com

Theatre Women Go All Out Against Rape

Sexual violence will be at the forefront of Wellingtonians’ minds this month with the Wellington Rape Crisis Annual Street Appeal on the 13th of April, and theatre makers Isobel MacKinnon, Ally Garrett and Fiona McNamara have a busy few weeks ahead of them.

The three women are putting on two art projects about rape in the month of April. As well as participating in a fundraiser performance of A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, edited by Eve Ensler of Vagina Monologues fame, as part of the International V-Day movement to stop violence against women and girls, the group will also tackle a performance installation exhibition at Toi Poneke Gallery, inspired by Shakespeare’s poem The Rape of Lucrece.

So far there hasn’t been a dull moment for the trio, who has been flat out filming video footage for the installation Lucrece: An Adaptation of Shakespeare’s the Rape of Lucrece. Already, filming has included actor Isobel MacKinnon baking her first ever cake on camera, as well as one infamous Saturday in Karori where 25 anonymous women gathered to be filmed completely nude. Working on the exhibition is a labour of love for MacKinnon, Garrett and McNamara who believe the poem is just as relevant today as when it was written in 1594.

“I was struck by Shakespeare’s understanding of Lucrece, as a rape survivor” says McNamara. “Historically, women have not been represented on their own terms onstage, but in this poem Lucrece has a strong voice and I wanted to show that by emphasising that this is her story.” Women’s stories are a passion for both McNamara and Garrett, reunited after collaborating on the sell out all female devised show, MINGE, at BATS Theatre in 2010. In this production the focus will be on Lucrece, and her rape will be explored through audio visual installation and live performance. Audience members will be seated close enough to touch the two performers and viewers will be encouraged to think about the ways they look at women’s bodies – both on film and in the flesh.

Lucrece is produced by multi-award winning theatre company, Binge Culture Collective. Already notorious risk takers, their previous work had already been described as “more a performance art installation than a play” (Theatreview) and this innovative piece moves the collective into a gallery space for the first time. It represents a new direction for the company, known for their image-based devised performances.