Last month I saw Venus Party, a piece of contemporary physical theatre performed at the Bangkok Theatre Festival in December '08. It broaches issues about women in modern society, including eating disorders, body image, the objectification of women, women in the workplace, treating the body as a commodity and competitive consumerism. One scene depicts a man and a woman entering into the convention of marriage. The expressing to'tie the knot' is represented literally by a rope tying their necks together. The rope representing the institution of marriage and the and bondage it locks its subscribers into.
The play ended with a message of hope; a dream-like sequence where the cast were dimly illuminated and it was possible to see the specks of dust swirling in the air. The characters chased these dust particles in slow-motion, marvelling at their beauty and treating the valueless as precious. It served as a reminder that we each survive in our own paradigm and the truth in life and beauty lies both within ourselves and in the world we live should we seek to find it.
