Edifying Eddy is a feminist’s riposte to plays written by men that use the Pygmalion Myth. That is the idea that a woman must be moulded and educated by a man in order to become the ideal woman. Edifying Eddy subverts this idea by giving the woman the knowledge and casting her in the role of educator. The change in the power dynamic creates a contemporary, funny, and provoking two-hander.
I created a deeply flawed female protagonist to counteract stereotypical ideas of what women in plays should be like.
It was important that the play was set in the Midlands and Eddy from the Black Country because this area is so underrepresented in theatre.
I was particularly interested in exposing some of the current issues in higher education. While not quite extinct, lofty Oxbridge professors spouting patronising outmoded lectures on colonial texts, are becoming rarer. In real life a student like Eddy would be far more likely to be taught by a lecturer like Mel, a young hourly-paid bought in teacher forced to augment her meagre earnings by doing other menial jobs to make ends meet. Early career academics are often exploited.
The play is a comedy because I think it is important to entertain the audience and allow them to laugh even when asking them to consider serious issues. I don’t agree with the view that an audience can only learn something new if they’ve had a miserable time.