Leading Lady Parts
August 3rd 2018
This comedy short, written and directed by Jessica Swale, takes a sneak peek backstage as the cream of British acting talent step forward to audition for that dream role. They are primed to take on the role of a lifetime, that complex woman, the strong woman, a woman for today. A lady part who is more than just... lady parts. The eclectic, award-winning cast includes Gemma Arterton, Gemma Chan, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Tom Hiddleston, Felicity Jones, Katie Leung, Stacy Martin, Wunmi Mosaku, Florence Pugh, Catherine Tate and Anthony Welsh. The hear her campaign aims to give free reign and the opportunity for normally unheard women from across the UK to tell their stories and give their opinions on all matters ‘women’. It aims to elevate these honest and uncensored opinions to make them un-ignorable.
Jessica Swale’s piece, ‘Leading Lady Parts’ acts as an insight into the painful reality faced by many women when attempting to infiltrate the entertainment industry. It is a satirical sketch with undercurrent themes of male superiority, gender stereotypes and discrimination. It explores so many relevant and dangerous truths that the entertainment industry poses when seeking new talent and scrutinises auditionees for components of their identity. These include sexism, sizeism, racism, ageism, and encourages dated stereotypes that lead to these prominent issues still finding a place in the modern industry.
This piece extends relevance further than simply the theatre or entertainment industry, as it highlights the key issues that fracture the power of the individual in society, and perfectly encompasses the extent to which these toxic opinions and oppressive mindsets from others enable an overwhelming normality of inequality and discrimination.
My project, as with this, seeks to expose and eliminate all dangers of preconception and discrimination, and highlight the extent to which ignorance and encouragement of components of the entertainment industry that function upon equality are, undeniably detrimental to all who wish to survive within it. All those, of course, who are not the straight white male.
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This piece in relation to my project
A key methodology used by Swale in this piece is shocking audiences with extreme examples of discrimination and general horrible behaviour. Examples, however, which are not as far removed from the truth as anyone may imagine. This is done through a witty, comedy script, and the use of famous faces in place for the thousands of individuals who undergo the reality of being shunned from the entertainment industry simply because of who they are. My project will function in a very similar way, using household names and familiar scenarios to emphasis the reality of the recurring suppression of the female voice due to preferences from a higher power.
My execution of the crucial exposing of gender oppression and discrimination will be evolved from Swale’s, with more of a focus on the industry’s licencing of content from the female figure, rather than just the aesthetic perception we have of her. This will be relevant most significantly to the comedy sphere, however, like ‘Leading Lady Parts’, will have a somewhat ambiguous context, enabling it to seize relevance in all sectors of the industry.
The power this piece has, in its writing and production is phenomenal, and I can only hope that my project functions as an inspired source of empowerment and relatability for any individual who has ever felt that they cannot succeed simply as they are.