Graeme Bowman

There’s a smell in the air. Actually, it's a stench, and it’s called patriarchy. And ignoring it won’t make it go away. So we’re not. We’re putting on a live satirical show and putting patriarchy to the sword. The show's called ‘Patriarchy – where would we be without you?’ and is  part of the 2015 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. (We also plan to extend the show's 'fun yet forthright' message via other valuable initiatives. See below for details.)

As we say in our publicity blurb: See men mock men! Watch humanity’s most dysfunctional system pricked, unpicked and put out to pasture. Witness the merciless lampooning of beliefs and behaviours that are ruining our planet. Within a fast-paced sketch format, this sophisticated, satirical show explores then explodes the toxic nature of patriarchal systems that dominate global societies, economies and the environment. Feminists may each bring one misogynist, for the ‘Which Tiny Guillotine is the Real One?’ game-show segment. (Warning: some CEOs, priests and politicians may find parts of this performance distressing.)



If you'd ever wondered if there was some common link between the suppression of women ... the slaughtering of indigenous people so miners could access their land ... systemic sexual abuse within religious institutions ... and the GFC notion of 'too big too fail', you will find that common link embedded within the ideals of patriarchy.

The thrust of our message is that patriarchy reflects an archaic worldview and primitive level of consciousness; an aberrant, unbalanced way of functioning that is now totally at odds with our current reality. The idea of the show is for the audience to laugh their way to an understanding that patriarchy really is the manifestation of a stone-age way of perceiving the world, and that perhaps we’re due for an upgrade.



Here's a taste of some material that will be in the show. Within a patriarchal mindset, many men think they have all the answers, even when it comes to addressing complex global problems. In the following two video clips, we meet one of these know-it-alls, played by Graeme, whose real-life son, Thomas, plays the guy who seems less convinced.



‘Patriarchy – where would we be without you?’ is being created by three members of the founding family of global online community, Wise Women Will Save the World. This emerging community has a goal of improving communication around complex, sensitive issues through highly engaging, artistic forms of expression. Our show is an example of this, and will blend a variety of contemporary concepts from both the visual and performing arts.

We firmly believe that humor, creativity and the arts can all come together to form an extremely potent tool of engagement and influence, particularly amongst a global cohort of women also armed with the amplifying influence of the internet. Basically, the strategy is to use non-linear forms of communication to cut through the sameness of the linear forms preferred by men – thick reports full of boring text and statistics, mind-numbing graphs and charts, and sleep-inducing bullet points, straight lines and rectangles.

Here are sample audio clips of material being developed for the show:



More information about the show and ticket sales can be found here.

Future plans for the concept and content of ‘Patriarchy – where would we be without you?’ include:
1)   Re-purposing the material online via audio, video, text-based and arts-based material.
2)  Producing a highly creative short-version eBook, followed by a long-version printed book.
3)  Engaging diverse groups of girls, boys, women and men via fun-based, interactive activities emanating from our global, online community, Wise Women Will Save the World.
4)  Performing the show elsewhere in Victoria, interstate and possibly overseas.
5)  Creating an educational version of the show plus workshop, aimed at secondary school students. Online and offline versions would be developed in tandem.

$1,000  Comedy Festival registration, venue hire, technical support

$200  Materials for set, props, costumes

$400  Promotion

$400  Video and audio recording of show

Any money in excess of our target will be put towards the realisation of our future plans for the concept. (See above.)

It's a challenge to communicate in new and different ways about divisive social issues, without the ensuing conversation sinking to the level of talk-back radio, where people mainly defend their current positions, and opinions become polarised. It's also a challenge to explore extremely complex notions like patriarchy in an engaging way. If the communication is too complex, eyes glaze over and people feel paralysed. If it's too simplistic, we're back to that binary, adversarial, talk-back radio mode of thinking.

Our response to these challenges is to use the creative devices of humour, art and metaphor to hold up a mirror to each audience member, and hence to society. These tools combine to serve as a Trojan horse, through which we can deliver key messages and Ah-hah moments.

Another challenge for all of us non-celebrity performers, during the lead up to the comedy festival, is to attract attention from the media and other influencers, in order to generate the buzz that brings audiences through the door. We are addressing this via substantial promotion on various social media platforms, and through direct contact with niche media folk whose intentions resonate with our own. We have been developing strong relationships with many groups and individuals committed to women's empowerment, social justice and human rights, and anticipate that many of those 'bums for good' will end up on our audience seats.