UGA Theatre Presents "Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again."

Tonight marks the second performance of the play “Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.” by UGA Theatre. Written by Alice Burch in 2014, the work has achieved critical acclaim. As an Athens Banner-Herald review explains:

“Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.” was commissioned in 2014 for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s summer season, taking its inspiration from American historian Laurel Ulrich’s quote, “well-behaved women seldom make history.” Alice Birch’s play went on to receive critical acclaim as a part of the RSC’s “Midsummer Mischief” season, featured alongside the work of other women playwrights.

It is, as Slate reviewer Katy Waldman describes it, “a scalding cascade of interconnected vignettes exploring words and their limits” that challenges the deeply-rooted assumptions and attitudes about sex and gender in modern society.”

The UGA run of the play is directed by Ph.D. student Elise Robinson. She explains the significance of the work in today’s cultural landscape in her director’s note:

The role of women in our society--who we are, how we’re treated, what we can achieve, what holds us back--has been a hotly debated topic since the suffragists starting agitating at the turn of the 20th century, if not before. But recently that debate has taken on fresh urgency with the #metoo movement, the women’s march on Washington, D.C., and the separation of “tender aged” children from their mothers at the border, among other events. We have made so much progress, and we still have so far to go. Here at UGA, as we mark the 100th anniversary of women’s admission to the university, we can look around us and find inspirational women all over: in our classrooms, on our playing fields, and in our performance places like right here in the Cellar Theatre.

The play you’re going to see was written in 2014, but the issues it addresses are as relevant as yesterday’s news. How do women navigate being in the world? More than that: how do they revolutionize it? In her notes prefacing the play, Birch urges, “most importantly, this play should not be well-behaved.” From the workplace to the bedroom and everywhere in between, “Revolt. She said. Revolt Again.” artfully explores how language and social expectations shape us for better and for worse--and how a little misbehavior can go a long way in starting the revolution. Again.

A unique play that touches on issues that are at the forefront of our cultural day-to-day discussion, the performance is not one to be missed. Kudos to these students for tackling such an endeavor and providing a space to examine these issues.

Performances will be held Oct. 9-13 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 13 and 14 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 and $7 for UGA students. Tickets can be purchased online at ugatheatre.com/revolt, via phone at (706) 542-4400, or in person at the Performing Arts Center or Tate Center box offices.

The play is for mature audiences.

For more information and to view a preview video, visit the UGA Theatre Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UGATheatre/