Theatre | The Guardian: The roller derby skater Maddy “BB Gun” Wilkinson has speed and scale on her side. The 24-year-old jammer (primary point-scorer) for the Adelaide team the Wild Hearses is 156cm tall (“I push just 5’ 1”, maybe”) and easily weaves between small gaps left by the opposing team, shielded by taller teammates from the scanning eyes of their rivals.
2 comments:
I wish I could see this so bad! I play roller derby myself, and my favorite thing by far about the sport is the community that makes it up. I’ve always thought it was pretty similar to theatre, actually. Modern derby has always been a sport that uplifts peoples’ self confidence from the very moment it was conceived, with the first leagues popping up in the waves and wake of the third-wave feminist movement. The plot of Mama Does Derby reads almost like a reverse Whip It (directed by Drew Barrymore), which is a movie containing a similar theme of finding confidence and self-acceptance through the sport. However, instead of the younger teenage daughter finding a community, it’s her struggling mother. This goes a long way in highlighting how the community can be for anyone–that you’re never too late to have fun. I love this sport so much because it really, truly is for anyone.
Mama Does Derby sounds so cool! I have never really heard of roller derby before, but I am definitely intrigued. I feel like many people see sports as a distraction and a focus on physical ability over intellectual ability, however I think the opposite is true. The story of this play proves that! Sports are a community, where we uplift each other and get stronger (physically, mentally, and emotionally) in the process. Although I don’t know much about roller derby, I have seen the revival of Starlight Express on the West End! There is something about roller skating and theatre that just combine really well together! It serves as an extremely dynamic element, sort of like choreography on steroids! Additionally, Starlight Express is a musical, so there was often a soundscape to cover the noise of the rollerskating, so I am really interested in how this would work out in a play!
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