Blood, semen, urine, and bruised bodies feature prominently in this collection of plays written between 1992 and 1995 by five women playwrights actively involved in the Canadian theatre scene. Although there is no mention of an editor behind this anthology, Ann Wilson of the University of Guelph sets the tone in her preface: “underneath all of these plays, however playful and humorous, is anger. Angry women are not mad; they are enraged.”

Marie Clements’ characters are enraged by male brutality in her play “Now Look What You Made Me Do.” As the violence and sexual demands increase, bruise-like lighting effects are projected onto the actors, while behind them transparent, vein-like pipes gush with increasingly red water. Clements creates powerful theatrical imagery with short, overlapping scenes, a highly detailed sound score, and her sharply defined characters: an aging prostitute, a “biker chick,” and the abused abuser.

Like Clements, Vivienne Laxdal uses a wide theatrical vocabulary to explore the mental collapse of Oneida in “Cyber:\womb.” Oneida is unable to conceive a child. In vitro fertilization has failed and she slips into an increasingly paranoid state, convinced that the government controls conception to ensure only perfect births. Projected images of sperm, eggs, and embryos punctuate this moving portrait of loss. Laxdal flips effortlessly between well-
observed comedy and tough emotional drama.

In “The Slow Eviction of Ruby Rosenholtz,” Toby Rodin uses a decidedly narrower theatrical palette to show the interconnected lives of marginalized people living in a run-down Vancouver hotel. Rodin’s linear portrait of the down-and-almost-out in a world where darker motives simmer just beneath the surface, is reminiscent of early Judith Thompson.

Kelley Jo Burke’s “Charming & Rose: True Love” is a darkly humorous, foul-mouthed inversion of a fairy tale that leaps off the page in a fury. Like Marie Clements, Burke uses multiple time values and highly visual stage imagery to present insidious male violence. “Doing the princely” in this setting produces bruised flesh, not a glass slipper.

The final play in this anthology, “I Hate You on Mondays,” is Kate Miles’ reality-soaked depiction of drug-confused and sexually active youth. Bernadette, a promiscuous 19-year old, started at the age of 14 when she “gave 13 blow-jobs at a CNE concert.” Pinch, a 21-year old musician and wanderer, prays as he penetrates her and then runs to church to confess his sins. Meanwhile, 15 year-old Moth is having regrets after his first sexual encounter in a ravine with a young girl who “volunteers for things.” The graphic sexuality and street language of this play means that it will rarely be staged where it best belongs – in Canadian high schools.

Prerogatives offers a snapshot of quality writing on the Canadian fringe and small theatre company circuit. It presents a view of theatre both as entertainment and as informal education. The violence explored here is not inevitable, but as Wilson points out in her introduction, “Given that women still largely lack control over their lives, anger is our prerogative.” Your level of acceptance of that statement will most likely determine your degree of comfort with these plays.