Women have always been a quintessential part of New Zealand’s theatre identity, and yet are underrepresented in our history and discourse. Over the past few years, however, campaigns like #MeToo and Time’s Up, have rendered feminist issues more visible than ever. This is also reflected in New Zealand theatre, where women are leading more projects; in 2017, Auckland Theatre Company and Silo Theatre staged productions led by women that explored feminist issues, and for the past two years at the Wellington Theatre Awards all the nominees for Director of the Year have been women.
Unfortunately, 2019 does not look as bright. Pop-Up Globe met a furious response when it announced its “Season of Power”, which included their “feminist” all-male version of Taming of the Shrew using #MeToo as a marketing device. This was closely followed by Auckland Theatre Company unveiling their 2019 programme which excluded women playwrights and directors. While the statistics for Circa Theatre in Wellington are better, with an almost 50/50 gender balance, Circa has also cancelled the WTF! Women’s Theatre Festival that it ran for the past two years. The month-long festivals followed a series of Women in Theatre hui and coincided with the 125th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage in New Zealand. The festivals appeared to be successful and the city felt alive with exciting feminist work.
This paper will examine the short life of the WTF! Women’s Theatre Festival at Circa Theatre. I will analyse the circumstances that led to its creation, discuss the new work that was premiered, and hypothesise the reason for its cancellation while asking, what happens now?