Unbeknownst to her, Mata Hari is to be executed tomorrow by the French military for being a spy. In the meantime she fights with her Senegalese-French cellmate, Helene Thibadault, who is tired of sharing space with an insufferable dreamer. Discussions about sex, love, loyalty, and apples ensue while Soeur Leonide attempts to counsel them both. 100 years later self-described feminist, history Professor Christopher Locke, tangles with Karen Sinclair who challenges his ideas of what it means to be a feminist & a black woman in contemporary North America. DON’T TALK TO ME LIKE I’M YOUR WIFE is 90 minutes that will have you shaken and stirred.
Keywords: Espionage, Feminism, prison, History, War, sexuality
Don't Talk to Me Like I'm Your Wife was produced by Call Me Scotty Productions, at the 2016 Summer Works Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Genre: Drama, Historical/Biographical
Acts: 1
Run time: 90 minutes
Suitable for students 16+
Content notes: A character tells a story about their love interest being killed by a sniper.
Cast size: 4 actors
Male roles: 2
Female roles: 4
Casting notes: The roles of Karen and Helene are to be double cast as is the prison guard and Professor Locke. Karen/Helene should by played by a Black identifying woman.
"Andrea Scott’s Don’t Talk to me Like I’m Your Wife is ostensibly about alleged WW1 spy and seductress Mata Hari, but it is Scott’s use of the iconic figure as a means to discuss historic and modern feminism, its evolution and definition, that stands out as her work’s greatest takeaway."
- Arts Vox
"[If] you’re interested in a nuanced discussion of modern feminism, its approach to history and the importance of intersectionality not to mention a well acted and written play, this is very much a play for you."
- Vance Brews, Mooney on Theatre