Review of About Face Theatre's Bull in a China Shop

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Bull in a China Shop. It was by Bryna Turner and it was directed by Keira Fromm. It was about Mary Woolley (Kelli Simpkins) and Jeannette Marks (Emjoy Gavino), who both were working at Mount Holyoke, a women's college, in the early 1900s and were in love. The show looks at their relationship over a long period of time. It is about love, relationships, and different kinds of feminism. I thought this show was intriguing and beautiful to watch.

The language was very modernized, but all of the visual aspects were very period. The costumes (Mieka van der Ploeg) and hairstyles seemed very early 20th century. Everyone uses modern phrases, especially Pearl (Aurora Adachi-Winter), who was one of Marks' students. She uses the term "ship" to mean wanting two people to be together, which was, I am pretty sure, not what it meant in the early 20th century. It just meant things that set sail. They also use the f-word a lot, which is not impossible, but wasn't super common for women back then. The way the dialogue is phrased reminds us that oppression of gay people and women is still going on today. It doesn't make you think of it as all prejudice that happened in the past. Some things are better now, but not everything. It also lets you relate to them on a more intimate level because they talk in a way that you yourself do.

There is a really interesting love triangle between Woolley, Marks, and Pearl. Both Pearl and Woolley are in love with Marks. But Pearl also "ships" Woolley and Marks, which makes it very complicated. Jeannette sees her relationship with Pearl as a teaching experience, but Pearl doesn't fully understand that, which makes for some very heartbreaking scenes. And Woolley also used to be Jeannette's teacher, so it seems like Jeannette is trying to have the same story, but she gets to be the Woolley in the situation with Pearl. But Woolley stuck with her, which is not something Marks is planning on doing with Pearl. Woolley doesn't seem to want an equal relationship with Marks, even though she says she wants equal rights. Marks also wants to be the person in charge, though, which she can only be with Pearl. Even though Woolley and Marks are trying to get away from social norms, they end up putting them on. The problem is neither of them really want to be what is considered "being the wife" in that time period. They should both be able to be powerful, but they seem to be becoming the thing they are trying to get away from. There is a line in another About Face show, looking out//looking in, that was something along the lines of "relationship issues aren't just for straight people," and I think that line perfectly applies to the relationships in this show.

There are a lot of different types of feminism, which I don't think everyone understands, but that is showcased in this play. Pearl is very young and is idealistic and is really going for everything being perfect and completely equal, which is not realistic for her lifetime. But I think it can be a good way to look at things, to go for the best and just keep trying. Marks would get arrested for protesting and not care if she gets out. She is very "ride or die" about the vote. She is less optimistic than Pearl, but they essentially want the same things. Woolley has a pretty different perspective than these two. At first she seems to think that only individual women should have power, not all women. She doesn't think the vote matters enough for all this fighting. She goes through the biggest change of her perspective. It is very interesting to watch someone who thinks of herself as an influencer get influenced by people around her.

People who would like this show are people who like analyzing feminism, heartbreaking love triangles, and early 20th-century shipping. I think that people should go see this show. It is a heartwarming and heartbreaking story about love and feminism. I liked it.

Photos: Michael Brosilow