Tracey Rose

This film includes a long table with a host of female characters recast as the Twelve Apostles. They are seated in front of a red velvet curtain for the Last Supper. The opening monologue is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘All the world’s a stage’, from his play As You Like It (1623). This text is based on the Seven Ages of Man: the infant, the whining schoolboy, the emotional lover, the devoted soldier, the wise judge, the clueless old man and the corpse. In her monologue, Rose questions this patriarchal illustration of human life through satire, playing with sexist labels such as ‘bitch’, ‘whore’, ‘virgin’ and ‘maiden’. By making these taboos hyper-visible in the style of absurd theatre, Rose critiques the representation of women in theology, art history and contemporary society.

She performs each of the characters, displaying various expressions of feminism from African mythology, French and British history, local slave narratives, modern politics and American pop culture and literature.

Both a greeting and farewell, the Italian title of the film provides a backdrop for the performance, with the characters entering the scene, disappearing and reappearing at different moments to address the audience. Although seemingly polite, the term ‘Ciao Bella’ is also used to catcall women on the street, highlighting their experiences in public spaces.