Wheeeww… that “Shows To See in 2020” blog we posted in January feels like it was posted about a decade ago?! But also, it seems like only yesterday we were bumping into pals in theatre bars, foyers, cafes & tunnels, hugging with abandon & rolling our eyes frustratedly about how “nothing in this industry ever changes”… Well, there’s been some changes.
But this isn’t a blog about the future of post-pandemic feminist theatre. We haven’t stopped reeling to be able to think about that. We’ve just put all our plans on pause, for the first time in 4 years, to focus on immediate work and family responsibilities while taking care of ourselves and occasional smaller personal projects (Pippa recently wrote about Something To Look Forward To inspired by Kate Wyver’s piece of the same name, and Beth’s been hosting monthly Queer Diary readings – via Zoom, of course).
At least, we THOUGHT we had put everything on pause, but we haven’t quite. Because something positive is happening! Next week! Yes, this is AN ANNOUNCEMENT post…
An Announcement
As some of you may already know, Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago have just opened a stream of their 2017 production of the stage show based on the work of our hero Alison Bechdel, the Tony Award winning musical FUN HOME.
Next Friday May 22nd Bechdel Theatre are hosting our official Fun Home watch party.
This is an invitation to stream Fun Home online at 7pm UK time (that’s a 1pm matinee Chicago time) & share the experience on Twitter, followed by a post-show opportunity to chat with fellow audience members on Zoom.
Yep, this is our FIRST EVER international post-show conversation.
How to join the Watch Party
Thanks to a special discount from Victory Gardens Theater tickets are $15 (~£12.20) for all Bechdel Theatre followers. Keep an eye on our Instagram Stories and/or our Newsletter to get the exclusive discount code, then just apply it at the checkout when you book on VictoryGardens.org.
Booking a ticket will (as per Victory Gardens terms) only allow you to access the stream ONCE and once only. So while you’ll be emailed the link to watch straight away, you’ll need to wait until Friday eve if you want to join the watch party. Or book again if you want to watch it twice!
On Friday 22nd at 7pm we’ll all press play simultaneously, and as we do so we’ll be sharing our and your responses to the show live on our Twitter & Instagram accounts.
After the show’s over we’ll open up a Zoom chat for anyone who wants to join us live to share your thoughts/feelings with each other.
Make sure you’re signed up to our Newsletter and/or our Patreon page, because (for security) they’re the only places we’ll be sharing the Zoom link.
For anyone who doesn’t know the story of Fun Home it follows Alison Bechdel’s life from childhood, her coming-of-age, coming out, and her complicated relationship with her father. It comes with some strong content warnings, the biggest one of which is suicide, you can read about the plot here.
We also HIGHLY recommend reading the 2006 graphic-novel memoir that the show’s based on, not to mention the follow-up ‘Are You My Mother’, and 20 years worth of her comics in ‘The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For’, if you can get hold of them (check if your local bookstore is doing deliveries – they need support right now!)
A page from Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home (2006)
If You Can’t Afford A Ticket
We know for some that even with a discount this cost will be a barrier, so we’ve set up a “Pay It Forward” PayPal pool to enable as many people as possible to see the show.
If you’re someone with income looking forward to Fun Home, we’re asking you to donate the cost of a ticket (or whatever you can), so that another person will be able to see it as well. We don’t have to worry about fitting everyone into one auditorium for this performance, so the more the merrier!
To request funds for a ticket, email hello@bechdeltheatre.com with the subject: “Fun Home Pay It Forward” & let us know what you need (£12.20 or less) & the easiest way to send it. We won’t ask you any questions. We just want everyone to see this show!
Stay In Touch
We’ve not been online as much as usual, as normally even when we don’t have events or podcast episodes to promote, we focus on sharing positive news from the middle of the Theatre/Feminism Venn diagram and there… Hasn’t been as much going on as usual.
But we miss people. Especially the ones on the Feminism/Theatre Venn, so please do stay in touch. You can email us (hello@bechdeltheatre.com), or tag us (@BechdelTheatre) in anything you’d like signal-boosting, anytime. If you’re creating something, looking for collaboration, or just want to share your thoughts, we’re here.
And we can’t WAIT to see you for Fun Home next Friday!
Much love,
Beth & Pippa
(Oh, you didn’t think we were gonna pass up the chance to share our nerdy Bechdel selfie did you?)
