Beware the male abusers who tempt fate by believing themselves all-powerful.
The “femoid” of the title is a term of abuse — a dehumanising slur for a woman who is seen as less than human — but playwright Iris Warren reclaims it powerfully as an invocation of the ancient Greek Fates. These goddesses control mortal destiny by spinning, measuring, and cutting the thread of life. Their decisions are impartial, final, and beyond appeal.
A faithful crowd turned out on Tuesday night to support the work of playwright Iris Warren. Presented by Vixen Theatre Company and directed with precision by Izabella Day, the production opens with three adolescent Catholic schoolgirls — Rory, Olive, and Piper — played by Iris Warren (the playwright herself), Natasha Pearson, and Róisín Wallace-Nash.
One of the strongest aspects of the writing is the nuanced transition into emerging adulthood. The girls are eager to explore romantic love, independence, and the privileges that come with it. Yet beneath the excitement lies palpable tension and a growing awareness of the risks and uncertainty ahead. Importantly, these young women are not rejecting male attention — they are curious and excited about the possibility of finding a romantic partner.
Above the drama of the girls’ friendship flies a billowing sail that serves as a projection surface for texts bubbling up from the dark corners of online platforms like Reddit. These flickering quotes, visible for only a couple of seconds at a time, draw from the language of male-dominated subgroups that denigrate women as sexual objects. Persistent and elusive, they hover like unconscious bias, reminding us that such attitudes endanger everyone.
This production makes a brave attempt to bridge two different perspectives through the use of “alters” that appear between scenes. Like the Fates themselves, these alter egos function as the voice of historical consciousness. One represents the deterministic view that women are always sacrificed to the male patriarchy, while the other embodies the hopeful drive of women trying to change society — raising consciousness about femicide and the need to expose deeply ingrained harmful beliefs about gender.
By dragging these difficult subjects into the bright lights of the theatre while wrapping them in a complex, layered artwork that authentically reflects the lived experience of young people today, Femoid delivers a bold and necessary piece of contemporary feminist theatre.
