Theatre: Harrowing story of sexual assault is uncompromising and impressive
Despite its grim conclusion, Asking For It is a story that needs to be told again and again, if we expect to change attitudes to sexual assault in Ireland
Asking For It
Abbey Theatre, Dublin
Until November 25
Rating:****
Louise O’Neill’s novel Asking For It was published in 2015, just prior to the massive cultural conversation kick-started by #MeToo and, in Ireland, Waking the Feminists. The book’s portrayal of the gang rape of a teenager at a party was particularly effective because of its moral complexity.
Its protagonist, 18-year-old Emma, is a singularly unsympathetic heroine. She is promiscuous and sexually provocative, and ...
