Inter Alia: The Weight of Womanhood

Edie Bright reviews National Theatre’s Inter Alia, and passionately writes about the weight of womanhood, both on and off screen.

I went to see Inter Alia, a National Theatre production, starring Rosamund Pike and produced by the brilliant team behind Prima Facie (Suzie Miller and Justin Martin). However, instead of trekking the distance to the Southbank in London, all it took was a walk to Cottage Road Cinema, here in Leeds. This was thanks to the National Theatre Live programme, which is dedicated to bringing their productions to local screens. Cottage Road Cinema is the oldest in Leeds, is independently owned, and definitely contributed to the theatre-feel of the evening, with plush red seats and an old piano nestled by the stage. 

National Theatre Live was launched in June 2009, with Helen Mirren’s Phedre being broadcasted into 70 cinemas across the UK. It has now expanded to 2500 venues across 65 countries. Originally these were live streamed performances but now it is more common for a pre-recorded performance to be shown. Jess Richardson, head of production at NT Live, suggests that what audiences enjoyed is the fact that “it wasn’t four shows pieced together – it was one night captured”. Inter Alia’s run began earlier in the summer this year, but the live broadcast was available in cinemas from September 4th. However, it still maintained the feel of a live show. As we got comfortable in our seats, we could see our London counterparts file into theirs and we heard their pre-show chatter with friends catching up and partners on dates. We felt the buzz of an evening in London. 

Next on the screen was a chair with Benedict Cumberbatch inviting us to take our seats. It’s a NT Live advert titled ‘The Best Seat in the House’, visually demonstrating the broad emotional experience of watching live theatre as the chair rapidly flashes through several different sets. It worked to reassure us that we are not a secondary audience but have in fact been carefully considered. We have been given the best seat in the house. 

Inter Alia is Latin for ‘among other things’ and perfectly encapsulates the story of Jessica Parks, a crown court judge, whose life is a precarious balancing act between judge, mother, wife, friend and feminist. Jessica attempts to bring compassion and care into her courtroom, in which she presides over cases of rape and sexual assault, and we see her shut down a line of questioning around what the victim was wearing. Her self-proclaimed role as a ‘feminist judge’ stands almost in contrast to her domestic life, where it is clear that she is carrying more of the burden than her husband, Michael. Jessica is responsible for Harry’s washing (their son), as evident when he loses an apparently important Hawaiian shirt and calls her up to ask where it is. Jessica is also responsible for the cooking and cleaning element of a dinner party they are hosting, whilst Michael’s sole responsibility is to buy cheese, which he has delivered. She is responsible for the emotional management of the household, where she has to be ‘vigilant’ about Michael’s ego now that she is a judge and he remains a solicitor and it is also her job to ask Harry how he is feeling about his friends and school. This idea of emotional labour is prevalent throughout the show, and it is clear that Jessica does not get a mental break from her home life. 

The themes of the play are extremely relevant today. Suzie Miller has said that she writes to affect change and to cause people to interrogate the way they think about things. Miller has used the Park’s home as a microcosm for our own society. Jessica is not alone in bearing the brunt of domestic work; the UN has reported that women do at least two and a half times more household work per week than men. Allison Daminger at Harvard University found, in a study of 35 couples, that men referred to their wives with terms like “project manager” and admitted they were “keeping track of more”. In a scene where Michael tells Jessica to go to the hospital because Harry has broken his arm, she only briefly questions why it was not a discussion that Michael could go instead. This idea of being a ‘default’ parent is something Miller encourages us to consider. The themes of misogyny and consent play a huge role, reflecting a rise in harmful attitudes towards women, especially on social media. A Savanta report for Amnesty International, in a study consisting of 3,204 young people, found that 73% had seen misogynistic content on social media, and half saw this content weekly. The UN has also reported that on a global scale, almost one in three women have been subjected to sexual violence (this figure doesn’t include sexual harrassment). Miller has been able to enact change through her plays. A judge in Northern Ireland made watching Prima Facie a mandatory part of judicial training and a group of barristers formed ‘The Examination of Serious Sexual Assault’ (TESSA – a nod to the main character in Prima Facie) to push for the inclusion of affirmative consent in the law. 

National Theatre Live makes these plays accessible – they reduce the burden of travel costs and tickets are at a much lower price point. It has enabled millions more people to watch and appreciate the productions put on by the National Theatre but also allows for a wider impact through raising awareness and opening up a cultural dialogue. Inter Alia contains a multitude of themes to be discussed, dissected and then acted upon. Theatre can have a real life impact and so the accessibility of it is so important. I would highly recommend seeing an NT Live performance if you can, especially at Leeds’ own Cottage Road Cinema.

Words by Edie Bright

_{Image Credit: Stephen Craven}