Seven Trump Accusers’ Stories Take the Stage in ‘The Pussy Grabber Plays’
Donald Trump’s presidency is a cruel joke for many reasons; the fact that it’s occurring simultaneous to and in conversation with the Me Too movement is a particularly dark one. Anyone looking to feel deeply disillusioned at any point during the day can just remind themselves that, for all of the silence breaking and talk of change, our President is still a self-proclaimed pussy grabber who was accused by 19 women around the 2016 election. Those allegations range from sexual harassment to assault; any one of them would, in an ideal world, be disqualifying for the office of the presidency. In this world, Trump’s status as an accused abuser is often lost in the shuffle, drowned out by whatever tweet, comment, or catastrophe is trending that day. The Pussy Grabber Plays seek to continue the work that Trump’s accusers started, amplifying their truth to anyone who’s still listening.
On Monday night, the show premiered for one night only, with proceeds going to the New York Women’s Foundation Fund for the Me Too Movement and Allies. Following the performance, the all-female creative team behind The Pussy Grabber Plays would be making the scripts available royalty-free to any theaters, community groups or colleges that want to produce them.
Co-created by Kate Pines and Sharyn Rothstein, The Pussy Grabber Plays consist of eight short pieces. Writers were inspired by the stories of seven accusers, which were then taken up by professional actors and directors. As the co-creators noted at the start of the show, rehearsals began the day before opening night. But this raw, unvarnished expression fit the material, as actors seemed to reckon onstage with re-opened wounds that still feel fresh. The pieces range from relatively straight retellings of Trump’s predatory behavior to more experimental fare.
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