Goddess @ The Storytelling Centre

This new wave is a (re-) awakening of women’s consciousness of their identity and power, independent from men’s views and society’s impositions. Alternating scenes from a remote Celtic past and an urban present, Goddess is a devised piece of theatre interwoven with feminist theory and offering interesting food for thought to both female and male spectators.

Suzanne Dance, Kari Ann Shiff and Belle Jones shift effortlessly between their multiple roles as Celts and modern women. Showing how the position of women has changed from a matriarchal society where goddesses were worshipped, and a present where women are somehow much less powerful, Goddess invites the audience to notice and break the chains that tie women to society’s expectations.

The show oscillates between being inspirational and cringeworthy, with the three performers awkwardly dancing and shouting at the end, or stating in unison: “I am a Goddess. And so are you,” which being reminiscent of the popular slogan “because I’m worth it,” didn’t really have much impact. These few moments aside, Goddess is an admirable collective effort to open women’s eyes to their condition and to bring feminism into the theatre.

The process behind the play is as noteworthy as the play itself: Goddess originated during a workshop on female archetypes and then developed through conversations with women, both face-to-face and online. Goddess is still a work in progress that, with a bit of smoothing and polishing, can become a truly empowering piece of theatre worth seeing.