''Difficult Women'' is a literary-folk music cabaret created in 1992, in Melbourne, by Lin Van Hek and

Joe Dolce Joseph Dolce (, originally ; born October 13, 1947) is an American-Australian singer, songwriter, poet and essayist. Dolce achieved international recognition with his multi-million-selling novelty song, " Shaddap You Face", released worldwide un ...

and has been performing internationally for 15 years.

History

''Difficult Women'', a name taken from the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...

, was established as a literary-folk music project by Lin Van Hek and her domestic partner,

, in early 1992. Hek performed the roles to Dolce's compositions. Note: Hek's first name is shown as "Linn". Nicole Leedham of ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'' observed, "to some they are difficult women, to others they were courageous... Hek is bringing these women alive with her theatrical collaboration with musician olce" The group works through a combination of theatrical vignettes, original music, songs, harmony singing and oration, to tell the stories of women who were labelled "difficult" by society for their willingness to defy what was expected of them. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''s David Fickling noted that he show isabout pioneering feminists who were thought in their time to be 'difficult', rather than visionary." A typical show contains over four hours of material on important women including

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...

Memphis Minnie Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being " ...

, Sonya Tolstoi,

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and ...

Alice B. Toklas Alice Babette Toklas (April 30, 1877 – March 7, 1967) was an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century, and the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein. Early life Alice B. Toklas was born in San F ...

Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer and critic who was an important figure in the Literary modernism, modernist movement. Her works are celebrated across the world and have been ...

and

Louisa Lawson Louisa Lawson (née Albury; 17February 184812August 1920) was an Australian poet, writer, publisher, Suffragette, suffragist, and feminist. She was the mother of the poet and author Henry Lawson. Early life Louisa Albury was born on 17 Februa ...

. Its first run was in mid-June 1992 at La Mama Theatre, Carlton. A Canberra performance in March 1994 was covered by ''The Canberra Times'': "the portraits were gentle but clear, clever and minor costume changes marking the differences. Strange Australian aunts and the work of Dale Spender on the links between gender and language mingled with Madam Tolstoy, who wrote out ''War and Peace'' 53 times by hand for her husband." The run at the Carclew Ballroom, North Adelaide, was over four days in mid-July of that year. In February 1995, Difficult Women was performed at Budinski's Theatre of Exile, Carlton. In 2007, a performance was in the Victoria rural city of Castlemaine, at the Acquador Room, in April.

Bibliography

References

External links

Difficult women
website {{authority control Victoria (state) musical groups Feminism in Victoria (state) Australian folk music groups Theatre companies in Australia