Gender Divide

Lulu gives new meaning to the phrase “battle of the sexes.”

The directorial staff of the play on the Loeb mainstage decided to separate the audience by gender so that the women and men sit on opposite sides, facing each other.

“We felt that it was important that the audience watch itself watch the play,” visiting director Brendan Hughes said. “The one thing I felt about this play is that when you’re watching or reading it, you are wondering what the opposite sex must be thinking right now.”

“It added sexual tension,” said Olga I. Zhulina ’09, who was at Lulu’s opening night with a female friend. “You would watch the actors, but then at certain points you would catch yourself looking at the guys, like they were part of the background and part of the play.”

Throughout the play, male actors give asides to the men and the female actors give asides to the women. And, as all Harvard students should know, the innate differences between men and women influenced their reactions to Lulu. In one scene, a male character prematurely ejaculates during a seductive conversation. The men looked at each other and cringed, while many of the women laughed.

“The play is a mock trial of sexuality in the 21st century…this is theater that isn’t necessarily easy to watch,” said Hughes.

Sure, the conflicts between Lulu and her lovers aren’t romantic comedy material, but at least Lulu is more thought-provoking than anything from an MTV reality show.

—Anna L. Tong