WWI safe sex pioneer’s story on stage
Safe sex pioneer Ettie Rout had no time for the moral tangles associated with sexually transmitted infections.
Rather than thinking that New Zealand troops shouldn’t be having sex during their leave from the horrors of the World War I battlefields, Rout rolled up her sleeves to tackle what she considered to be a medical issue.
Rout discovered that New Zealand soldiers had high rates of STIs – or venereal disease (VD), as it was known then – while working alongside them in Egypt. In the face of strong public and governmental opposition, she developed a prophylactic kit for the troops, which she fought to get adopted by the New Zealand Army.
Rout was ahead of her time, and she knew it, famously writing a letter to her friend H G Wells in 1922 saying: ‘‘It’s a mixed blessing to be born too soon.’’
Now the actions of this extraordinary campaigner are set to come to life on stage in Nelson.
The award-winning Histrionics troupe will be telling Rout’s story in three performances of a show called The Red Plague. It has been written by Nelson theatre stalwart Penny Taylor, who also directs and will make a cameo appearance.
‘‘This isn’t about making her a heroine,’’ Taylor said. ‘‘This is more about exploring why, because it’s important to acknowledge the culture of the day.’’
Many people were horrified by Rout’s actions, seeing them as a move towards ‘‘making vice safe’’, Taylor said. She was even referred to as the most wicked woman in Britain.
‘‘The conflict about what we consider now is a matter of common sense and a no-brainer, at the time was huge,’’ Taylor said. ‘‘She was completely persona non grata.’’
Rout established the Volunteer Sisterhood in 1915 to help care for sick and injured soldiers abroad. Despite government opposition to the plan to send untrained women overseas, the first volunteers went to Egypt a few months later. Rout herself went in early 1916, which is when she discovered the high rates of VD.
She designed and produced a sexual health kit, and set up a soldiers’ club in London from which they were distributed. Rout also went to Paris to continue her work.
A cast of 27 tells the story in Taylor’s production of The Red Plague, with Barbara Lloyd in the role of Rout. Other cast members play a range of characters, including soldiers and politicians of the day.
Taylor said some new talent had come through for the production, including Nelson College students Max Choma, Frazer Cowan and Harry Kim.
Taylor was inspired to write The Red Plague after seeing Rout’s story in 2018 in Wellington as part of an exhibition about women in war. She then did months of research to discover more.
‘‘I think she was a difficult woman to like . . . because I think she was very determined, very opinionated, didn’t suffer fools.’’
With its adult content, The Red Plague is said to be suitable for mature audiences. It is scheduled to be performed at the Suter Theatre on July 18, 19 and 20 at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from TicketDirect, the Theatre Royal, the i-SITE and Richmond Mall.
‘‘I think she was a difficult woman to like . . . She was very determined, very opinionated.’’ Penny Taylor, writer and director