The Vagina Monologues is performed annually to bring attention to V-Day in thousands of cities and colleges worldwide. The performances generally benefit rape crisis centers and similar resource centers for women.
Contents
- United States
- Canada
- Performances in other countries
- Albania
- Argentina
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- France
- Hong Kong
- Germany
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Israel
- Japan
- Kenya
- Macedonia
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- Per
- Portugal
- Russia
- Scotland
- South Korea
- South Africa
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- Venezuela
- Wales
- References
The Vagina Monologues were also performed in four Muslim countries deemed to be liberal enough to hold the performances. They were Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia and Pakistan.
United States
Actresses who have performed the play include:
Canada
A production in Ottawa in 2006 included Senators Lillian Dyck and Nancy Ruth in the cast.
Performances in other countries
The Vagina Monologues has been performed in 77 countries. Some details below:
Albania
Actresses:
Argentina
Actresses
Belgium
’The Vagina Monologues’ was performed by Members of the European Parliament in Brussels (European Parliament, Paul-Henri-Spaak building) on 6 March 2012.
Actresses
Brazil
Actresses
Chile
Director: Liliana Ross (1st Season), Katty Kowaleczko (2nd Season)
Actresses
China
The first mainland performance occurred at Sun Yat Sen University in 2003.
Premiered in March 2009. Produced by Théatre du Rêve Expérimental (薪传实验剧团).
Director and Translator: Wang Chong (王翀)
Actresses: Alice Han Lin (林寒, U.S.), Xiao Wei (肖薇, China), Huang Rong (黄容, Taiwan)
Colombia
Director: Fanny Mikey
Actresses:
Ecuador
Actresses:
Egypt
The first production of the monologues in Egypt was staged in 2004 by students of the American University of Cairo. The day after the staging it was condemned by Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady and President of the Egyptian National Women Committee.
France
Actresses:
Hong Kong
The play was originally called "VV Story" (VV物語), but changed to Vagina Monologues (陰道獨白)in the re-run. It was performed in the City Hall from 4 July to 11 July 2007.
The actresses who performed in Hong Kong are:
Germany
Stuttgart (Martina Wrobel):
Berlin (Adriana Altaras): Hannelore Elsner, Katja Riemann, Ulrike Folkerts, Esther Schweins, Iris Berben, Sonja Kirchberger.
Trier (Fiona Lorenz):
Hungary
Note: It has been playing in Hungary since 2002 by two different troupes, one in the capital, Budapest in the "Thalía Theatre", and the other troupe travelling the country.
Thalía Theatre
Producer:
Director:
Actresses:
On the road company
Director:
Actresses:
India
The Vagina Monologues has been playing in India since March 2003 and is produced by POOR-BOX PRODUCTIONS. It has been given an Indian twist: The original monologue "The Flood", featuring a Jewish woman has been transformed into a story about an elderly Parsi woman; and a woman who meets a man who loves to look at her Vagina is now a Maharashtrian woman in the Indian production.
The Indian production of The Vagina Monologues is produced and directed by Mahabanoo Kotwal and Kaizaad Navroze Kotwal. The play has performed in: Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Pune, Calcutta, Bhubhaneshwar, and Colombo in Sri Lanka.
The original cast is still performing the play: Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, Dolly Thakore, Jayati Bhatia, Sonali Sachdev, and Avantika Akerkar. Shivani Tanksale and Varshaa Agnihotri have filled in for certain performances.
A production featuring Jane Fonda and Marissa Tomei was banned in the South-Indian city of Chennai in 2004. Despite that, Ms. Fonda, Ms. Tomei and Ms. Ensler performed in the play in Mumbai and Delhi as part of a series of events titled V-DAY INDIA 2004: THE YEAR OF THE INDIAN WOMAN WARRIOR.
In March 2009, to celebrate the 200th show of The Vagina Monologues in India, Poor-Box Productions presented V-DAY INDIA 2009: WOMEN AND MEN ENDING VIOLENCE "ALL TOGETHER". That event featured several Bollywood stars including Imran Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Loveleen Tandan, Sandip Soparrkar, Sid Makkar, Jessy Randhawa, Smilie Suri and Nairika Kotwal-Cornett.
The Hindi language translation of The Vagina Monologues titled Kissa Yoni Ka debuted in Mumbai at the NCPA's TATA Theatre in January 2007. The cast included: Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, Dolly Thakore, Varshaa Agnihotri, Russika Duggal, Geetika Tyagi and Shivani Tanksale. The last two have been replaced by Dilnaz Irani since August 2008.
The play may have been translated into Hindi and performed in January 2007.
Actresses:
Indonesia
The Vagina Monologues was translated into Indonesian by Gracia D. Adiningsih and was adapted by Jajang C. Noer and Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, who is also an MP in Indonesia.
The Monologue was performed for the first time in Indonesia on March 8, 2002, in Jakarta, as part of the Women's Day celebration. It was staged at the Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta Cultural Center. Some performers had doubts about the performance because the theme might be considered taboo and sensitive by some people in that country.
The performance was repeated in Yogyakarta on March 31 – April 1, 2004, and at the Cultural Center of Bengkulu, Sumatra on August 19, 2004. Actresses The Vagina Monologues was performed by Indonesian actresses such as Sarah Azhari, Niniek L. Karim, Devi Permatasari, Cindy Fatika, Enno Lerian, Rima Melati, Jajang C. Noer, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, Ratna Riantiarno, Ria Irawan, Wulan Guritno, Rachel Maryam, Cornelia Agatha, etc.
Israel
The first performances were done in spring of 2001. The following year, it was performed in English at Merkaz Hamagshamim Theater in Jerusalem as well as in Hebrew in Tel Aviv. The English performance had vocal music vignettes between each new scene. (The English cast was also invited to perform there production in Riga, Latvia for the Latvian International theater festival.) The Vagina Monologues were performed in English in Jerusalem, Israel by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion as a benefit for The Jerusalem Rape Crisis Center as part of V-Day events at least since 2005. It was performed in Russian in 2006.
The show has also been produced by The Stage in an English-language performance incorporating 13 monologues in February 2014, in Tel Aviv, directed by S. Asher Gelman.
Actresses:
Japan
Actresses:
Kenya
Actresses:
Macedonia
It is performed by Bitola Theater since April 2007. Actresses:
Mexico
The Vagina Monologues opened in Mexico on October 19, 2000, and on November 2009 celebrated its 5,800th performance. It has a record 110 continuous weeks of uninterrupted performances, and on October 19, 2010, holds for Mexico an unsurpassable ten-year run. It is the only theatrical event which constantly presents 12 performances a week in Mexico City, on top of the touring versions reaching almost a hundred towns in the country. Its five venues in the capital have been: Nuevo Teatro Sala Chopin; Teatro Gran Meliá; Teatro del Hotel NH; Centro Cultural San Ángel; and Nuevo Teatro del Hotel NH. After 14 years playing in Mexico, On May 6, 2014 the Mexican Production will become the first revival of the show in New York at the Westside Theatre Downstairs (The original theatre were the first US production was shown), making it the first open run engagement totally in Spanish. The producers are OCESA Teatro and Morris Gilbert, and has been translated into Spanish by Susana Moscatel and Erick Merino.
Director: Abby Epstein
Actresses and Performers:
Note: Since it opened, over 80 women: actors, communicators, singers, sexologists, journalists, dancers, politicians and social and political activists have performed in the Mexican production.
Nigeria
Director: Ifeoma Fafunwa
Actresses:
Perú
Portugal
Guida Maria:
Actresses:
Russia
Director:
Actresses:
Scotland
South Korea
Date: March 2007
It was held on March, 2007 with volunteers from abroad and domestic. It was named as 'The Vagina Monologues 2007' (V-Day Seoul). The performance, especially, honored the women of The House of Sharing (a home for former comfort women) as Vagina Warriors by putting on a monologue, 'Say It'. And V-Day Spotlight 2007 addresses Women in Conflict Zones because was exponentially increases the crimes of violence against women and girls. It has planned to perform again in 2008 by V-Day Seoul Team.
Language: Korean & English (Subtitle was submitted)
Actresses:
Date: Sept.- Nov., 2006
Language: Korean
Director:
Actress:
South Africa
The production cited here was a College Campaign production and was run by the students of the University of KwaZulu Natal, Howard College, Durban in April 2006. Funded by AK Print, Afriscan, Badge It!, Ish Ramkissoon Surveys and aided by the university's department of Drama & Performance Studies, the production focused on reaching students via 'South African-ising' the play and locating the monologues in a South African socio-cultural and political context. AS the play is located in an American context, the actresses felt that the text should be tweaked so as to show a bit more of an African vibe. For this purpose, the director was accepting of the fact that a lot of the actresses added in South African references such as events, words in isiZulu and commentary on current affairs in South Africa. Male students from the university were eager to help and they did help in terms of administration, lighting, sound, advertising as well as merchandise and ticket sales. The show was sold out for all performance nights and the proceeds went to the Advice Desk for the Abused in Durban. The university hopes to make the play an annual event.
Director: Nikita Ramkissoon
Actresses:
Taiwan
The Vagina Monologues has been performed by the Garden of Hope Foundation (GOH) in Taiwan since 2005. In the first year, the GOH worked together with Taiwan Women’s Link and the Taipei Association of Women’s Rights to stage a bilingual Chinese-English performance of the play.
Since 2006, the GOH has staged the monologues with its own staff performing the roles. The GOH is an NGO that offers services to women and girls who are victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. By playing out the stage roles, the GOH employees say they are able to identify more closely with their clients.
In the 2012 show, GOH employees were joined by the Barefoot Alice theater group – a group of actresses who were victims of sexual abuse or domestic violence in the past, and who came up through one of the GOH’s counseling centers. The actors performed “playback” improvised skits of stories told by members of the audience.
Past performances:
2012 Performers:
GOH employees:
Barefoot Alice theater group members:
Turkey
The Vagina Monologues (Vajina Monologları, in Turkish) has been performed at various venues throughout Turkey since February 2003, with the original production taking place at the Barış Manço Cultural Center in Kadıköy, Istanbul under the direction of Almula Merter, who also translated the original script. The play, which had originally raised concerns of indecency and was denied access to venues at some publicly funded theaters, was ultimately performed to great success and subsequently inspired the locally penned 2008 book "İşte Böyle Güzelim" ("This is How I Am Beautiful") - a collection of interviews and essays on the female experience and women's sexuality in Turkey influenced by the style and greater mission of The Vagina Monologues.
Director: Almula Merter
Actresses:
Venezuela
Director: Héctor Manrique
Producer: Carolina Rincón
Actresses: