More than 80 female and non-binary writers have united to create a 'guerrilla' theatre piece, All the Rage, which aims to refocus the Jeffrey Epstein narrative on the victims rather than the perpetrators. The project, born out of a WhatsApp group, will premiere in a repurposed office block in the City of London.
Playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz, screenwriter of She Said, initiated the project after feeling enraged that coverage of the Epstein case centred on 'the men and the money'. She said: 'I asked: Is anyone else enraged about the Epstein files and how it’s all about the men and the money?' Forty-five writers initially responded, and the project escalated rapidly.
The production will unfold across 15 spaces, featuring installations, monologues and a 50-minute collective theatre piece. Director Lucy Morrison described it as 'guerrilla theatre, where art meets activism'. Writers have been encouraged to contribute five-minute scenes, though longer works can be displayed on walls.
All the Rage includes Lucy Kirkwood's play Maryland, written in response to the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa, to emphasise that Epstein's crimes were not isolated. Contributors include Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, whose play Behzti was cancelled after protests in 2005.
The project operates without a selection process to avoid hierarchy, with writers doubling as publicists and stage managers. Morrison has enlisted student designers from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama to help curate the smaller spaces.
