Caroline Dinenage MP will today welcome drama students from Bay House School to parliament, to perform in front of MPs, Peers and Government Officials.
An all-female, award-winning cast will perform local playwright Zella Compton’s original play, ‘How to be a Girl!’. The play takes a darkly comic look at media pressure for young women to look and behave a certain way. It is presented as a magazine, and also offers a satirical peak between the covers of ‘How to be a Boy!’, highlighting the gendered discrepancies that continue to shape modern British society. Prominent feminist activist Jessica Woodfall has urged parents of teenage daughters to see the play, describing it as a lesson in ‘deconstruct[ing] the rubbish thrown at them on a daily basis’.
Today’s performance marks the International Day of the Girl, which falls every year on 11 October. Since 2012, International Day of the Girl has celebrated young women’s energy, power and creativity whilst raising awareness of enduring inequalities across the world.
Commenting, Caroline said: ‘I was so impressed by ‘How to be a Girl!’ when I first saw it earlier this year, and I am thrilled that my colleagues will now have the opportunity to see it, too. The play addresses a really important issue in a fresh and compelling way, and is performed by an incredibly talented young cast. I am very much looking forward to seeing it again!’