When Visionary Women Aren’t Trusted: Emma Rice Out at The Globe Theatre
Just two days ago I read a story about Emma Rice, the new (she started in April) and soon to depart Artistic Director of The Globe Theatre in London. She was on a panel sponsored by Tonic Theatre and candidly discussed the double standards she was up against. Rice explained how she believed that the language used to describe her and her work at the theatre was different from how men, and men’s work, are talked about. The unfair discrepancy made “her blood boil.” Words used to describe her have been “opinionated” and “loud,” which are, of course, coded words often lobbed against women who dare to speak freely.
It came a quite a surprise to read a day or two later that she had been dismissed by the board of The Globe Theatre for a seemingly ridiculous reason — her use of sound and lighting technology. For those who don’t know The Globe Theatre, it was re-created to look like The Globe which was the theatre where Shakespeare’s works were originally staged. People stood, there was only natural light, and due to the lack of technology, there were neither mics nor a sound system.
Rice was brought in specifically for her vision and her experience and to take the theatre to a new place. She brought in new audiences and brought her sensibility to the work, which included cutting edge use of sound and lighting technology at The Globe. But apparently that sensibility and vision weren’t what the leaders of the theatre were looking for. Did they not know her work before they hired her, or was she just too different for them? Was this just a bad fit? Or was this a board not comfortable with a strong female vision?
From what I can tell, the theatre community is reeling. I can’t help but wonder would’ve happened if a man had this type of bold vision. Would he have been embraced? At the very least, I’d bet he’d have been given more time in the role than she was.
Not trusting the female vision is a very big problem, and this clusterfuck is another example of how little faith people have in women to be bold and visionary. The Globe is feeling an immediate backlash. Funders are reconsidering their giving money to the theatre, and the community is furious: The situation is so tense that it’s been described as “the brexit of theatre.”
It will be interesting to see where this conversation goes.
