Another monologue from the pen of Rohan Candappa, this time performed by Kerry Gooderson. In which she talks about "invisibility". Gooderson speaks with candidness and presents an intelligent and thoughtful diatribe.
At first I thought this might be yet another piece about visible and invisible disabilities which people have and yet are, by and large. ignored by society and those who suffer from them are the invisible ones. However, this monologue had a different problem to present. One that is admittedly a little more niche, and perhaps, if you are not in the profession or have a good understanding of how the profession works, you may have some difficulty in understanding and believing.
Here Gooderson talks about the problems facing her, and many more like her, who become "invisible" by casting directors and production companies. She is an actress, and despite the industry becoming more inclusive and casting against type, she still feels that she is passed by too many times because of a perceived cultural, sexual, or racial stereotyping.
She tells us she is 1/4 Chinese (you wouldn't know), and this she believes has held her back since no-one really sees her as the proper "English Rose" nor is she Chinese enough to play a Chinese role. Moreover she is now pregnant; something she embraces wholeheartedly and feels wonderment about; but she now worries that that too is holding her back in the castings she will be considered for. Does a pregnant, or later a woman with young child, add yet another layer on to her invisibility (read: unsuitability) for acting roles.
Invisibility, she tells us, works by making only one part of a person hyper-visible, highlighting this one thing which in turn makes the rrest of the body less and less visible. This works with ethnicity, sexuality, age, or whatever 'label' you care to use.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 3/9/20
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