New feature: It’s only a bloody tampon
by Jess McCabe // 23 September 2008, 10:12
Is a tampon soaked in stage blood too shocking for theatre-goers? Gemma Bolwell and Harriet Chandler report
Foulisfair Theatre is a three-woman company. We devise original pieces that explore issues from a female perspective. Our current show Daughters is an unsentimental expose of what it can feel like to be a daughter. It presents the idea that girls seek approval from their parents whilst also needing to establish their own identity, which often leads them to acts of rebellion. The result of these acts is often guilt and shame, with the daughter feeling that she has gone "too far".
This week, Foulisfair has been accused of doing exactly that. In a packed auditorium in Dewsbury on Sunday night, our performance was suddenly interrupted by a grey-haired man standing up and shouting: "Absolute filth! You should be ashamed! You want locking up!" Perhaps he was so carried away with the subject matter that he felt the need to enact the role of a reactionary father? That is debatable. Whatever the motivation, his tirade directly preceded an abrupt and forthright exit: perhaps not executed with panache, but certainly with rather a loud bang.
Founder of The F-Word, Catherine Redfern, has co-authored a new book with Kristin Aune. Find out more at the 
