‘Women are everywhere… so why are we invisible?’ Eva Wiseman of The Guardian asked in 2015, and people were listening…
Last year the ERA, (Equal Representation for Actresses), was launched with force, heralded by the likes of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, seen sporting her ‘50/50’ pin badge ring at the 2018 BAFTAs during her acceptance speech for Female Performance in Comedy. Together, they’ve been quietly transforming film, TV, and theatre careers for women ever since, driven by their mission to create an equal quota of male and female drama and comedy work – on and off screen – by 2020 in the UK.
The campaign, working from grassroots, emphasises the fact that the UK population divides into 51% women and 49% men at present. Men outnumber women by 2:1 in acting roles on our screens. In terms of writing and producing, the unbalance is seen across the board of the biggest broadcasting competitors: since 2004 only two prime-time drama series have been created by a woman for Channel 4; they contributed a mere four of 22 productions for the BBC’s comedies in 2017.
The ERA and its supporters believe that women should be given equal agency across their demographics – speaking for themselves on screen and stage. Women become decreasingly voluble as they age. According to the study “A snapshot of an Analysis of ‘Film Dialogue”, across 2000 modern screenplays, women from the ages of 32 to 41, have 18 million words (versus 44 million for men), but from to 42-65, they become just a ‘murmur’ of only 11 million words (compared to 54 million for men of the same age). [according to the ERA website c. July 2019]
From the ERA’s pledge for change, stems the hopefulness of having a voice for very real problems that are coming to light. Stars such as Emma Watson and Claire Foy donned ERA badges at the 2018 Golden Globes, during the ‘#TimesUp’ movement peak; Suranne Jones followed suit at the National Television Awards the same year. They recognise that by demanding half of the work in the industry, with parity, they can address these issues and expose the public to more and more. They can break from the patriarchal ideology that dominates Hollywood to inspire intersectional developments, for people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, the disabled, that are reflected into society.
The ERA realises the need for the support of men. Toby Jones accepted the award for Best Male Comedy Performance at the BAFTAs wearing their badge. Tobias Menzies (Outlander, Game of Thrones) said of their event, held at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, in February 2018: “Shifting preconceptions of what gender representation should be in our industry was the invitation of the night ...asking us to go back to our spheres of influence and talk about it where we can.”
Lack of male support spurred on the angry, once down-trodden Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Vicky Jones, artistic director, to create their own theatre company, DryWrite, and spend two years staging short plays by new writers whilst growing their team from just five to a hundred. From this stemmed Phoebe’s immense successful BBC show, written and starring her in the titular role of Fleabag, composed by her sister Isobel (Black Mirror) and based on her one-woman show. She continues to garner awards and nominations through the development and writing of Killing Eve, revolutionary in re-shaping the stereotypes of latex women of the spy-thriller genre.
Talking of changing perceptions, the effectiveness of having women write about their own experiences certainly stirred attention for Suranne Jones, already hugely famous for clawing her way from the soap Coronation Street in the early 2000s to national icon. Recent drama Gentleman Jack uncovers the taboo, once seemingly wild lifestyle of the woman deemed as the first modern lesbian icon, as well as defying odds to enter 19th century politics as a successful business woman. It is written entirely by women: Sally Wainwright (Last Tango In Halifax) and Jill Lidington (historian), guided by diaries from Anne Lister whom the now infamous show revolves around.
The ERA support this kind of progression, inspiring the youth and the corporates alike to be considerate with their choices in the art they create, and they’re doing it quietly by letting the success of the likes of Phoebe Waller-Bridge speak for itself: taking risks on women deconstructing old social norms, to talk about taboos, sells because it’s so craved, it’s so unheard of, and people want more.