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Last Virgin in Paradise: A Serious Comedy
94 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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May 9, 2020Last Virgin in Paradise is a small cast play set on a fictional Polynesian island.
A young woman - the "virgin" of the title - is one day away from her wedding to an old European man who sought out 'a brown girl' like Gauguin's paintings. He is crass, objectifies her, treats her like a doll, and essentially bought her for a wife. There is an anthropologist who wants to photograph her in traditional clothing, study the wedding rituals and family structures in her village. Finally, the girl's cousin, recently returned from graduate work in Australia who wants her to acculturate and leave the island for formal education. Hina, the girl, stuck in the middle of this cacophony of advice and 'study'.
In a few short pages, the scene is set - a tale delving right into post-colonialism, "othering", objectification, and exoticism.
The playscript includes several interesting director and stage notes about set design and costumes, and even language and music to use in the play. Always helpful when reading something that is meant to be viewed - or taken in through a different medium.
A young woman - the "virgin" of the title - is one day away from her wedding to an old European man who sought out 'a brown girl' like Gauguin's paintings. He is crass, objectifies her, treats her like a doll, and essentially bought her for a wife. There is an anthropologist who wants to photograph her in traditional clothing, study the wedding rituals and family structures in her village. Finally, the girl's cousin, recently returned from graduate work in Australia who wants her to acculturate and leave the island for formal education. Hina, the girl, stuck in the middle of this cacophony of advice and 'study'.
In a few short pages, the scene is set - a tale delving right into post-colonialism, "othering", objectification, and exoticism.
The playscript includes several interesting director and stage notes about set design and costumes, and even language and music to use in the play. Always helpful when reading something that is meant to be viewed - or taken in through a different medium.
June 14, 2017
This review is also published on my blog, Around the World in 2000 Books.
This is a pretty good play, in that it actually works as both a play and a cultural document. It's not Shakespeare (though there are a couple of roles for clowns), but I could imagine this play, in the hands of a talented director and some competent actors, actually being reasonably entertaining to watch.
Hina, the titular virgin, is being fought over by three other characters who represent different faces of society. There is Helmut, a dirty old European guy who thinks he'll find purity, love, and unspoiled innocence in the South Pacific, and wants to claim it (and, essentially, despoil it) for himself. There's Jean, a Western anthropologist who sees the island and its people as something to study, and wants to observe Hina's wedding to Helmut from pure scientific curiosity. Then there's Hina's cousin Temanu, who is the voice of newly revitalized culture: she's interested in exploring her (pre-colonial) roots, but she's also a feminist. She wants Hina to have what she thinks Hina should want: to live in the village, not marry Helmut, be "free" as Temanu sees it. Actually though, what Hina wants is to get away from the village and see the world, and if she has to sleep with a skeezy old white guy to do it, she's ok with that. Hina turns out to be a lot wiser in the ways of the world than any of her would-be possessors give her credit for. The dialogue can be a little clunky, and the drama is less than riveting, but on the whole, it's a sly send-up of post-colonial Pacific culture.
This is a pretty good play, in that it actually works as both a play and a cultural document. It's not Shakespeare (though there are a couple of roles for clowns), but I could imagine this play, in the hands of a talented director and some competent actors, actually being reasonably entertaining to watch.
Hina, the titular virgin, is being fought over by three other characters who represent different faces of society. There is Helmut, a dirty old European guy who thinks he'll find purity, love, and unspoiled innocence in the South Pacific, and wants to claim it (and, essentially, despoil it) for himself. There's Jean, a Western anthropologist who sees the island and its people as something to study, and wants to observe Hina's wedding to Helmut from pure scientific curiosity. Then there's Hina's cousin Temanu, who is the voice of newly revitalized culture: she's interested in exploring her (pre-colonial) roots, but she's also a feminist. She wants Hina to have what she thinks Hina should want: to live in the village, not marry Helmut, be "free" as Temanu sees it. Actually though, what Hina wants is to get away from the village and see the world, and if she has to sleep with a skeezy old white guy to do it, she's ok with that. Hina turns out to be a lot wiser in the ways of the world than any of her would-be possessors give her credit for. The dialogue can be a little clunky, and the drama is less than riveting, but on the whole, it's a sly send-up of post-colonial Pacific culture.
July 3, 2023
I didn’t really like the play - it’s from the 90s, which maybe contributed to the ‘outdated’ feel, but it felt like a naive caricature… The characters seemed very flat, everyone was reduced to stereotypes. Which was kind of the point, I suppose. It was also very short, and left no time for the story to take root.
Summary: An old, white man comes to a Pacific island to find a virgin wife. A white anthropologist takes pictures of
everyone without truly caring about the people. A studied-abroad islander returns home and has an identity crisis. The virgin wife (who isn’t a virgin) wants to leave the island for better opportunities.
My edition contained two essays, one about Pacific clowning by Vilsoni Hereniko which was interesting as it provided the anthropological backdrop to an element from the play.
The other essay, “Images of Paradise” by the scholar Robert Nicole, was super interesting. It gave a great account of how the understanding of Tahiti as an “island paradise” was influenced by Rousseau and Cook, and how the specific brand of racism directed towards Pacific Islanders changed over time, influenced by the demands of capitalism and missionaries: From the erotic free paradise to the perceived land of uneducated “savages”. This essay put into words what the play tried to convey, and I feel bad for saying this because it makes it seem like the white researcher knows more about the lived experience of the islanders than they themselves know…
All in all, it’s still cheating for my entry for Kiribati. ☹️
Summary: An old, white man comes to a Pacific island to find a virgin wife. A white anthropologist takes pictures of
everyone without truly caring about the people. A studied-abroad islander returns home and has an identity crisis. The virgin wife (who isn’t a virgin) wants to leave the island for better opportunities.
My edition contained two essays, one about Pacific clowning by Vilsoni Hereniko which was interesting as it provided the anthropological backdrop to an element from the play.
The other essay, “Images of Paradise” by the scholar Robert Nicole, was super interesting. It gave a great account of how the understanding of Tahiti as an “island paradise” was influenced by Rousseau and Cook, and how the specific brand of racism directed towards Pacific Islanders changed over time, influenced by the demands of capitalism and missionaries: From the erotic free paradise to the perceived land of uneducated “savages”. This essay put into words what the play tried to convey, and I feel bad for saying this because it makes it seem like the white researcher knows more about the lived experience of the islanders than they themselves know…
All in all, it’s still cheating for my entry for Kiribati. ☹️
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews