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Dateline: 14th June, 2004
Girls Are On Top at the RSC! As part of its season of classic Spanish plays, the Royal Shakespeare Company will attempt to recreate the heady atmosphere of ‘Spanish Golden Age’ theatregoing – by separating the Company’s Swan Theatre audience by gender. On Saturday 24 July, for two performances only, the ‘boys’ will be down below in the Stalls, with the ‘girls’ on top in the Galleries.
In sixteenth and seventeenth century Spain the sexes were divided in order to satisfy local authority watchdogs and clerical moralists that young couples would not be able to copy the goings-on they witnessed on the stage.
It was customary for women to be herded into an isolated area – the ‘stewpan’ or ‘cazuela’ – with ushers squeezing in as many women as the benches would take. Very often, the girls would noisily and heatedly attempt to attract the attention of the men below by banging their beads on the balustrade – and it was known that men would cross-dress in order to sit amongst the women.
The RSC’s ‘Girls on Top’ day includes two ‘segregated’ performances of The House of Desires and The Dog in the Manger, and three special events. Prior to the matinee the audiences will get a lively taste of what it would have been like to visit the theatre in sixteenth and seventeenth century Spain. After the matinee Season director Laurence Boswell will lead a discussion delving further into this divided world. And after the evening show audiences are invited to let their hair down with salsa dancing and tapas!
Girls on Top Producer, Fiona Lindsay, said,‘I’m really excited about the Girls on Top day. When the audiences arrive, we’re planning to recreate the lively ambience of Golden Age theatre-going. Members of the company will be ushering women in one direction and men in the other, and I’ve even heard that some of the male members of the audience will be dressing up as women in an attempt to infiltrate the girls-only area! It’s certain to be a fun and enlightening day.”
All inclusive tickets for the day, including the 1.30pm performance of The House of Desires, the 7.30pm performance of The Dog in the Manger, and entrance to the three special events cost £50 or £30, and are available from RSC Box Office on 0870 609 1110. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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