Write Me A River

Catching up on the news of the day (I never have time to read it in the mornings), I was intrigued by a particular paragraph towards the bottom of this article on the SMH website.

In case you don't want to read the whole article, the paragraph in question was this:

"While women's representation has improved, Bell says it is still low. Statistics compiled by Playworks suggest only 11.6% of works by the major performing arts companies in Australia this year are by women. The Sydney Theatre Company has no woman playwright in its 2006 subscription season."

Whilst reading that, it occurred to me Company B doesn't have a woman playwright in its 2006 season either.* Nor was there one in their 2005 season. **

Which got me thinking. And surfing. And I discovered that the only female directors Company B have used in the last two years were directors of "buy-in" productions. Productions that were bought lock, stock & barrel from other theatre companies, either from interstate or overseas. There hasn't been a female director of a Company B production since 2004.

And of the twelve productions that form STC's 2006 subscription season, only 2 are directed by women.

Which leads me to ask:

1. Why are female writers in Sydney being overlooked by the major theatre companies? Are there not enough of them writing? Are they not writing enough? Is it not of a high enough standard?

2. Why is it that female directors seem to fare little better?

I don't know many women writers, but I know some brilliant women directors who are still working in the fringe or co-op scene, despite the fact that they consistently turn out work which is of a far higher standard (technically and creatively) than the vast number of their male counterparts. Yet it is those men who are continually hired by the big theatre companies.

Is it just a Sydney thing? Or does this happen in Melbourne too?

I'm intrigued.

Thoughts on a postcard please.



* Unless you count the fact that Tristan & Yseult (an English touring production) which was based on an old Cornish love story, was co-written by a woman.

** And unless you count the fact that Amajuba (a South African touring production) was written by a woman in collaboration with a cast of five who told their own personal stories about growing up under the apartheid regime.