Succession meets Barbie _{by Madelaine Empson}

The team who brought you the award-winning, hard-hitting play Prima Facie return to Circa Theatre with a timely tale of the pressures women face in their political, public, and private lives. Monument by Emily Sheehan will have its New Zealand premiere from the 11^th of October to the 9^th of November and is set in a lush presidential suite, where Edith Aldridge – the youngest woman to be elected leader of her country – has just 90 minutes to get ready for the most monumental day of her life. With Edith’s team stuck in another city due to heavy fog, 22-year-old makeup artist Rosie is deployed from the David Jones counter. Though face to face, the two women do not see eye to eye in this slick and provocative play.

Starring Mel Dodge and Tara Canton, Monument is directed by Lyndee-Jane Rutherford, who calls it “a theatrical high-wire act”.

“Over 100 minutes, the makeup is applied right there live on stage in real time. And here’s the twist: the actor playing the makeup artist isn’t a trained professional makeup artist. That means the stakes are even higher – she has to deliver a full, emotionally charged performance while also pulling off the meticulous task of applying makeup in front of the audience.”

Choregraphing the live makeup has been one of the most challenging aspects of bringing Monument to the stage, while “working with such talented actors on a script that is funny, moving, and full of surprises has been an absolute delight”, Rutherford says.

“Monument explores the ways we can shape each other and the power we have to create change. My ultimate hope? That after seeing it, people feel inspired to step up, speak out, and vote.”