Theatrical student organizers are looking to make a play with a universal message — about women’s vaginas — even broader.
This year, a famous theatrical display of women’s vaginas has come to UNC for the first time in an all-Spanish rendition of Eve Ensler’s groundbreaking play, “The Vagina Monologues.”
Company Carolina and V-Day Carolina have collaborated for the past 12 years to present “The Vagina Monologues” in English, but this year V-Day Carolina decided to introduce a Spanish version as well.
The Spanish version opens tonight, and it premiered in English Thursday — with two more English shows on Saturday.
For the first time, this year, there are also co-directors for the play: Carla Davis-Castro and Kei Alegria-Flores.
“‘The Vagina Monologues’ has been performed on this campus for 12 to 13 years, and we are excited to start a new tradition with the Spanish show,” Davis-Castro said. “The Spanish version of ‘The Vagina Monologues’ is a pilot, and I am excited to see it continue for years to come.”
“The Vagina Monologues” was first performed by its notable all-female cast in 1996 off-Broadway and has become a staple in feminist theater ever since. It has been performed in 48 different languages around the world in more than 140 countries to numerous audiences.
Tanya Davis-Castro, the narrator in both the English and Spanish versions of “The Vagina Monologues,” described the play as a group of monologues that are a combination of what Ensler refers to as “vagina interviews,” where women talked about their vaginas and their experiences with them throughout their lives.
