Woman Of My Dreams – Expressing the rage women feel

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By Chantelle Tindall

Woman Of My Dreams is a very thought-provoking play which completely surprised me as I thought it was about women liberation, the quest for equality and Female Genital Cut. However, it was much more.  It was not just making a stance for FGC per se, it dealt with the complexities of desire, different forms of abuses, class, and a journey through time from slavery to the modern day. It also touched on the Western world's view on humanity and people of colour. Its diverse subjects when fed through the Q and A session with the cast and author, meant that everyone had different views - aided by the script which gave the audience a chance to form their different opinions.

Woman Of My Dreams introduces us to "inter-racial, inter-faith and cross cultural marriages" with its focus on Layla and Stanley Sanford and the opposition they faced from his father - a Judge Clement Sanford. Layla is Asian while Stanley is white. We also saw Layla's strong connection to her faith and culture as she desired to get circumcised, and even had to ask Stanley to do the same, which cancelled patriarchy in this case. It showed she's not a woman under pressure but one who understands, accepts and respects the demands of her religion. And if her intended husband loved her enough, he would show it by following her tradition.

Furthermore, the play touched on cultural pressures, abuse of women, politics and a post-colonial world. A world where men could comfortably wear two faces: One - as a professional at work, whilst being a brute and bully at home. For example, the Judge, played by Anthony Fleming, whose wife Caitlin, played by Geli Berg, is treated badly. His attitude was embedded in the old ways of hegemony. This also set the mind wandering what era the play was set in.

It was important to note that indirect questions like: Why do we hurt ourselves? was highlighted in the play, using cutting as a metaphor.  When a girl has no choice or voice to resist the hurt and trauma FGC causes, she becomes representative of the downtrodden in society who find themselves in pitiable conditions which they are powerless to do anything about. FGC is a painful process which causes bleeding. The pain is felt when the poor cannot afford food, medical care and housing, etc. This was the case with Jada who had no choice but to conform with what her tradition and culture demands of her, although she would rather not be cut, if given the choice.

Stereotyping was also touched upon in a scene which portrayed Jada as a confused black girl with no liberties to take decisive and concrete decisions for herself - whereas Layla had choices and could make independent decisions. In this day and age, that should not be the case. Unfortunately, stereotyping happens whether we accept it or not. A mindset that readily boxes people according to race, colour, culture and religion is very hard to change and is prevalent in today's society. It was an issue that needed portraying and the author did well to make it relevant.

Without costumes, we were confused as to whether it was set in the colonial period or post-colonial period. That only added to the play's intrigue. However, in the midst of the unclear setting, were songs, dance and drum beats which takes the play to the African hinterland, adding excitement and vibrancy. One even wonders if the play was set in Africa.

During the Q and A session, the cast admitted that they felt quite uncomfortable and struggled with the level of obscenities and tone that borders on racial. For example, Denis Gerald who played Sheka, an African, found it hard to call Judge Clement "my white friend," just as the Judge said he felt awkward saying some of his lines. According to the author, to get the message across, the cast had to be as authentic as possible. She had to keep in the strong obscene words or else the play would lose its essence.

Finally, speaking to the author Rashida Mustafa on her inspirations when writing the play with its broad and diverse topics, she stated that as a psycho-analyst, listening to people speak about FGC, she realised the issues are far deeper as we are all still groping in the dark whenever the debate comes up. Each time she gets in conversation with her psycho- analytical friends, they believe Lucien Freud was right about the castration complex. So the play was a way, trying to express what Freud en-tutored. (The rage we all feel.) According to her, Female Genital Cut is a metaphor for the pain and anger women feel when confronted with the issue of circumcision. The play was simply a conduit trying to define the anger all women feel when faced with the issue of Female Genital Mutilation or FGC.

Woman Of My Dreams looks set to be a play where the conversation is never ending. The different subjects touched on, and the arguments for and against FGC, looks set to also be never ending. The script in hand only gave a snippet as to what the entire play is set to look like and this has peaked all our interest and we all look forward to when it eventually runs. Kudos to the author, cast and crew.