Philautia at The Cockpit

'Philautia' (Greek for self love)

"This show is an act of self love, a catharsis, a reclamation of my body as my own. This is a show that strongly resonates with me but also, I hope, allows me to be a representative of women, for the audience.

Philautia is an audio based statement on how it is to be a woman today. It explores the topics of misogyny, sexual assault, rape and various forms of male violence towards women. ‘Philautia’ is a bold piece of theatre that comments on the state of the world we live in. It is comprised of edits of my own voice and the voices of women I know talking openly about what it feels like to be a woman and their own experiences with sexual assault.

Philautia is a piece of challenge theatre, one of my main aims with this work is to challenge ths audience, it should not be enjoyable to watch. It should be uncomfortable and intense, to reflect the reality. This is not a dramatisation, this is the truth, this is real stories from real women. 

A quote by one of my favourite writers, bel hooks, helps to encapsulate the essence of why Philautia is here on the stage today. 'The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is -  it's to imagine what is possible'. I challenge the audience to address these issues head on, but I also give them hope. Once we have hope, education and change, what is possible is limitless, 

I know that if you come to see this show you will experience something vulnerable, something memorable and it will definitely make you think and feel something."