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The Herald Scotland
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
We should celebrate Oscar Wilde as a mould-breaking feminist
One a playwright adored by society and then destroyed by its hypocritical condemnation of his homosexuality; the other the first socialite to appear on stage, who captivated and scandalised in equal measure (this included her affair with the Prince of Wales – complete with sojourns in a Scottish love nest). They were powerhouses for change. Wilde gave us the self-actualised female protagonist who apologises to no one. What's more he approached the female characters in his plays from all different angles. Some are martyrs (The Duchess of Padua), some are righteous warriors (Vera); some are ridiculous (Lady Bracknell), some are conniving (Mrs Cheverly) or vindictive (Salomé); some are philosophical (Mrs Allonby), some are frivolously shallow (Mabel Chiltern); many buck conventional domesticity and reliance on a husband; all are fiercely independent thinkers, like his own mother, Lady Jane Wilde, a poetess 'who was considered to be the most ardent and hot-headed of Irish Nationalists'. It's difficult to overstate how important this was for modern theatre and literature. Soon other playwrights followed suit by portraying women as individual beings untethered to husband or family. George Bernard Shaw wrote Mrs. Warren's Profession soon after seeing the opening performance of Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, and the similarities in social politics and the nonconformist mother roles are undeniable. August Strindberg and Anton Chekhov subsequently adopted the style of creating more psychologically complex female characters at the turn of the 20th century. The direction of Western theatre and literature irrevocably shifted. Wilde gave audiences a multitude of memorable characters and quotes such as Mrs Cheverly's quip in An Ideal Husband: 'The strength of women comes from the fact that psychology cannot explain us. Men can be analysed; women… merely adored.' Contrasts between the sexes are a common theme in his social comedies: In A Woman of No Importance, Mrs Allonby ironically argues against the conjecture that wives' frivolity were what made marriages unhappy: 'How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she was a perfectly rational being?... We have always been picturesque protests against the mere existence of common sense. We saw its dangers from the first.' Something else I realised in the nine years I've spent researching Wilde was that his impact on the role of women wasn't restricted to fictional worlds. His relationship with Langtry was crucial to her rise to stardom, and she in turn influenced his poetry and playwriting. He dedicated poems to her and based the character of Mrs Erlynne in Lady Windermere's Fan on Langtry's life experience. And Langtry's life and personality were every bit as outsized as Wilde's characters. Both deserve wider recognition. This is something I hope to contribute to at the Edinburgh Fringe with my one-woman play Wilde Women which celebrates how they strengthened women's voices on the stage using humour, grit and grace. Krista Scott is the writer and performer of Wilde Women, which she is presenting at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She is a well-known actor, director and dialect coach and Professor of Theatre at Texas Christian University in the USA.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Don't hold Stormont to impossibly high bar, says George Mitchell
Northern Ireland's devolved government should not be held to an "impossibly higher standard" than other jurisdictions, former US senator George Mitchell has diplomat, who helped negotiate the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, said that "no country is free of political disputes" and "problems will continue".Mitchell chaired Stormont talks which led to the historic peace deal to end decades of violence in Northern Ireland known as the to BBC News NI's Red Lines podcast, he said Northern Ireland must continually renew the "resolve and courage that their leaders demonstrated in 1998". The agreement 27 years ago led to a power-sharing government at Stormont between unionists and Irish it has collapsed several times, including most recently a two-year hiatus until February 2024 due to a row over post-Brexit trade said he was "not at all" disappointed by how the system was currently operating."No country is free of difficulties. No country is free of political disputes," he said."And so my first caution is for the people of Northern Ireland not to hold Northern Ireland to a higher standard, an impossibly higher standard that no other country in the world could or does meet." He said issues would continue as "social conflict is ongoing" and "takes different forms"."Most importantly, what is essential is to meet the challenge of the needs of the people of the society," he said the Good Friday Agreement was a "political compromise" that recognised there would be further issues to address."It was understood and expected that there would be a period of time and change," he said."Nothing in life is permanent, not in any individual life or in the life of a society."And it is up to the people of Northern Ireland and their political leaders to demonstrate on an ongoing basis the resolve and courage that their leaders demonstrated in 1998." From NI to the Middle East During his political career, Mitchell was asked by former US president Bill Clinton in 2000 to lead a fact-finding committee on the Israeli-Palestinian was also appointed by former US president Barack Obama as a special envoy to the Middle said he was "very deeply concerned" by recent events in the said the violence and conflict there was "vastly more difficult and vastly more complicated" than issues in Northern he said he remained hopeful "there will be a recognition there, as there was in Northern Ireland, that there is an alternative to conflict".Mitchell was speaking following the launch of a new documentary film on his life, The Negotiator, which premiered last month in 91-year-old said he was pleased to still be able to visit Northern Ireland."I'm American, proud of it, always will be, but a large part of my heart and of my emotions will forever be here with the people of Northern Ireland."
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Unionist Irish language fears can be addressed - former Welsh first minister
Unionists in Northern Ireland have "legitimate concerns" over the Irish language but they "can be addressed", the former first minister of Wales has said. Mark Drakeford, the Welsh government's language secretary, said political agreement on Irish would be "healing rather than divisive". It comes amid continuing disputes at Stormont over the Irish language, including rows about bilingual signage and its cost. Drakeford, a Welsh speaker who encourages bilingualism in Wales, said unionists have nothing to fear if Irish "is done in a way that is sensitive to their concerns". Speaking to BBC News NI's Sunday Politics programme, he said language should not be used "as a political football". "I think, done the right way, concerns can be addressed," he said. "That's not to say that concerns aren't legitimate." The development of policies in Northern Ireland to promote the Irish language has long been a point of dispute between unionists and Irish nationalists. In Wales, the Welsh language is more widely accepted and is commonly displayed alongside English in public spaces, such as on road markings and street signs. Drakeford, former leader of the Welsh Labour Party, said he was "perfectly comfortable" with having a Welsh and British identity. Asked about unionist concerns over Irish, he said that being "undoubtedly Welsh doesn't diminish your sense of being part of the United Kingdom". But Drakeford said unionists have "legitimate concerns" and are "entirely entitled to make sure that's part of the public debate". Northern Ireland's devolved government is currently recruiting an Irish language commissioner and a commissioner for the Ulster-Scots and Ulster British tradition. The roles were key parts of language legislation introduced in 2022 by Westminster, which stepped in following a political stalemate at Stormont over the laws. Interviews for the posts are due to take place this month, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly told the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday. She added that she and First Minister Michelle O'Neill were committed to making the appointments "as soon as possible". Wales has had a Welsh language commissioner since 2012. Their powers include investigating complaints against public bodies. Efa Gruffudd Jones, who has held the role for more than two years, said that "languages don't need to divide us". "Languages are special things, and people can express themselves differently in different languages," she said. "So I would hope that people can respect other people's languages and ensure that they can enjoy using it." Irish signage has been a key point of contention at Stormont, with parties clashing over proposals to spend £150,000 on bilingual displays at Belfast's Grand Central Station. The plan by the infrastructure minister is being challenged in the courts. At local council level, there have also been disputes over the introduction of dual-language street signs in some neighbourhoods. They have been vandalised more than 300 times in five years. Northern Ireland's 11 local authorities have varying policies on installing dual-language street signs. In Belfast, proposals for a street are considered by a council committee if 15% or more of all occupants surveyed express support. More than 200 have been approved since the policy was introduced a few years ago. Of those approved, the average survey received about 34% of replies in favour, 4% against, 1% no preference, and 61% no response. The figures were obtained by BBC News NI through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request. Belfast councillor Ron McDowell, deputy leader of Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), said many unionists felt Irish was being "thrust upon them". "People are vehemently opposed to the Irish dual-language street signs because they see it as a weapon - it's a cultural warfare," he said. "It's being used by nationalist politics for identity politics - to mark territory." Ian Malcolm, from Lurgan in County Armagh, is a Protestant, a unionist and an Irish language teacher. He said that Irish "does not in any way diminish a person's Britishness", but should also not be "forced down anyone's throat". Describing it as a "beautiful, wonderful language", he added: "It tells us so much about who we are, about our history. "I think that everyone can embrace that, without surrendering one inch of your unionism." Irish street sign vandalism cost councils £60,000 NI language law could spell significant change
