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Her Naked Skin - Laying bare the suffragettes' battle
HER NAKED SKIN
National Theatre (Olivier)
REBECCA Lenkiewicz’s new play is the first by a living woman in the Olivier theatre and, significantly, it tells the story of a ferocious battle for women’s right to vote.
Set in 1913, it is an intricate but absorbing account, directed with the precision of a Swiss watch by Howard Davies and complemented by Rob Howell’s design.
The infamous events of Derby Day 1913 are revisited, as a blurred and jerky film shows the moment suffragette Emily Davison threw herself on to the race track and died after being struck by King George V’s horse.
Then there is the shock of force-feeding hunger strikers in Holloway and the cynicism of Asquith’s House of Commons and his Liberal Government.
There is a foreboding atmosphere, the heart of the capital beating uneasily in a prelude to the 1914-18 war.
“Lady” Celia Cain (Leslie Manville) was characteristic of many upper-class women who defied all their social taboos to join the front line of direct action, while Eve Douglas (Gemima Roper) is one of the few working-class women in the attack elite.
They fall in love but their deep physical passion is doomed.
Lenkiewicz handles this allegory with great sensitivity. Rarely have I seen an audience so obviously moved, as events force the two women apart.
A large cast catches the mood of the period, particularly Susan Engel as Holloway suffragette Florence Boorman, organising window smashing and digging up golf courses.
William Rawlings as Celia Cain’s lawyer husband pushes his sympathy as far as he can, for his world is peopled by misogynist morons. And though his humanity is put to the test, it comes shining through.
1913 may not have been a year of grace, but it was one of ruthless and relentless confrontation matched by the political obtuseness of the Establishment which did, however, lead to victory by 1947 when women’s absolute political rights were established in law. This was followed in 1969 with votes for everyone aged 18 and over.
Travelex’s generous subsidy allows everyone, mainly young people, to see this vivid and colourful chapter of history for £10. Most, I feel, will learn a great deal.
Until September 24
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