Rachael-Lea Rickards and Trey Anthony have teamed up to write an entertaining, thoughtful play that will inspire women of all cultures to redefine their relationships. I am not a Dinner Mint…the crap women swallow to stay in a relationship takes a candid look at the way women allow themselves to be treated as refreshing afterthoughts instead of the main course.
After the breakup of a relationship and a heated chat on MSN, Rickards, who was one of the original cast members of Da Kink in My Hair, decided to write her first full play in collaboration with her best friend, Trey.
“For years, we talked about doing something about relationships and speaking more honestly. After doing Da Kink, it’s really hard for me not to do honest theatre and for me not to write about it,” says Rickards over the phone on a break before rehearsals.
Directed and co-written by Trey Anthony, the play features a cast of five women from diverse backgrounds, including voices from the Caribbean, Greece, South Asia and Italian-Canadians. “When Trey wrote Da Kink, it was about the voices of black women. We recognize that the voices of all women are important, and we really want to create spaces for all women. Our tagline is five women, five hearts, one story,” says Rickards.
Rickards is quick to point out that men are also welcome. “It’s actually not a male-bashing show. It’s a real look at ourselves, the things we do and why we do them. Not all the pieces are about love relationships. They are about relationships with your mother, relationships with yourself, and relationships with a job that’s not meant to be for you. It’s about our personal choices and why we choose to stay there.”
It has been an exciting time for Rickards since co-writing the play in 2005 and its production on stage. She hopes that “women will walk out of the theatre feeling inspired, if not to change their relationship, then to change the environment that they are in.”
Rickards looks forward to many exciting times ahead. Da Kink will be opening in London at Hackney Theatre in November 2006. She hopes “Dinner Mint” will follow in its footsteps. “Dinner Mint really speaks to everybody.There are different accents, and it’s just so rich,” says Rickards. “I felt like it was a real calling to do what I was meant to do. I’ve jumped full force into it.”
