Perhaps the most controversial 'play' on the West End stage at the moment is the provocatively titled Vagina Monologues. The title alone has ensured that it received an inordinate amount of publicity.

It would appear that the scarcity of leading roles for established actresses has meant that hoards of them have been clamouring to appear in this phenomenally successful show. One of them, Maureen Lipman says she fought tooth and nail to appear in the show, but when she was successful in obtaining a leading role, she told her mother...."it's called the Geneva Monologues and it's about women in banking". She said her part was "pushing back the boundaries for me", as the role required her to persuade the audience to shout the 'C' word. Something that proved not too difficult with the West End audiences.

Eve Ensler, who wrote the script, says ..."It changes men. It changes women. I really believe this play changes lives." She acknowledges that the average West End audience is not easily shocked, and they are not the sort of audience that the play was originally aimed at. The more self-conscious or conservative women are the group that she feels would benefit enormously from this show.

If women who see this show are prepared to shout out four letter words in public places, or to answer conversational gambits such as "How do you do?" with a detailed bulletin about their private parts, then Eve will certainly have changed things, but not necessarily for the better.

When the hysteria dies down and the play eventually, if ever, becomes available for amateur production. Will there be a local group brave enough to tackle it?