'Vagina Monologues' Silenced Before Shanghai Debut
 

(submitted by gekkogecko)

Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The curtain has fallen on Eve
Ensler's controversial but internationally acclaimed
women's rights play, "The Vagina Monologues," in
China's most cosmopolitan city before it had even
begun.

Despite reports that the play had been killed by a
jittery government, Shanghai city officials insisted
Tuesday there were unrelated problems.

"Research shed light on some problems with the play,"
said a spokesman for the Shanghai Drama Center, adding
it may be staged in future. "It's our own problem, not
the government's."

The play had been due to open in Shanghai Tuesday and
run for a month, marking its first performance in
Chinese to the general public. The city's Cultural
Bureau declined comment.

The play is going ahead in the conservative capital,
Beijing, with a scheduled opening on Friday

Sources involved in the play told Reuters that
Shanghai arts officials were refusing to talk.

Despite the development of an increasingly open-minded
attitude toward sex in China, the play may have fallen
victim to a lingering wariness and conservatism among
official ranks.

The word "vagina" is repeated more than 100 times in
the play. The slang word for vagina is considered so
offensive in China it is usually written as an "X" in
print media.

Two books by Shanghai-based women authors -- Zhou
Weihui's "Shanghai Baby" and Mian Mian's "Candy" --
were banned in 2000 for their graphic descriptions of
sex and drug-taking.

"The Vagina Monologues" has been performed in more
than 39 countries since its debut in 1996, touted as a
celebration of female sexuality, while discussing
issues like violence against women.

The play was first performed in Chinese in December
2003 to an audience of students at the Guangdong Art
Academy where it received standing ovations from those
present, state media said.