charity performance for rape prevention education

i just got this by email via the aotearoa ethnic network. the press release with further details is copied below.

Popular, controversial ‘Vagina Monologues’ is back

It's been five years, but Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues returns to Auckland beckoning listeners to reconnect with the “unnamed, untamed and unknown” down there.

Playwright and activist Ensler's off-Broadway hit has been so successful it's spawned an internationally touring show and a nonprofit organization that supports work to stop violence against women and girls.And for the first time, the controversial play returns to Auckland as part of VDAY 2010 to raise funds and awareness for Rape Prevention Education.

Anya Varezhkina and Colleen Olson on behalf of Auckland University Students Association are staging the show.

This is an exceptional event because The Auckland University Students Association has never dared to stage The Vagina Monologues before. Some of the stats that VDAY aims to uncover for New Zealanders is that approximately one in four Kiwi females and one males in eight Kiwi males will be affected by sexual violence or abuse, most before the age of 16 and most rapists/abusers are known to the victim.

Abusers are more likely to be family, current partners, ex-partners, friends, boyfriends, acquaintances, people known through work and caregivers than strangers.

The show’s sketch topics range from mundane yet funny (menstruation, gynecological exams, thong underwear and moaning styles) to truly poignant (rape, genital mutilation and their distressing statistics). Each topic is tacked with equal passion, in a voice as changeable as the show's tone.

As sharp as Sex and the City, as unmissable as Friends and as funny as Smack the Pony, this riotous evening is the ultimate night out --- for guys and girls alike.

All profits from the production will go to charity, 90% to Rape Prevention Education and the remaining 10% to Power to the Women and Girls of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hurry, the show typically ‘sells out’ fast and there are only three performances to book! Show dates are 22nd, 23rd and 24th of April at 7:30 pm the Maidment Theatre, University of Auckland.

Tickets are available from the Maidment Theatre, 8 Alfred Street, Auckland Private Bag 92019, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142Call 09 308 2383 or http://www.maidment.auckland.ac.nz/.

About the producers
Anya Varezhkina was the director and producer of the very popular production of The Vagina Monologues in Hamilton last year. The production sold out all 3 nights and gained a lot of media publicity. She has also produced shows for the Fuel Festival and Duffy Books. Colleen Olson is a highly qualified American producer and director and this is her first major theatre work in New Zealand.