Limited Perspective

I am not your rolling wheels I am the highway I am not your carpet ride I am the sky - Audioslave I’ve been developing a theory that stories centering women can be much more interesting than stories with men as the protagonists. I don’t know if it’s accurate, but it just seems like a story can have so many more challenges for female characters to overcome, because whatever the setting or era, men are likely in control, creating the highways that determine where you can go, and being the very sky that encompasses you. So it is with Unrivaled by SIS Productions, now playing at Seattle Public Theater’s space. The story is set a thousand years ago in imperial Japan. The Empress Teishi retains a court and among them is a writer, Sei. The action of the play starts when another writer, Murasaki applies for a position at court. To do that, she must interview with Sei. There is a great scene with the two women where control of the conversation shifts back and forth until finally, there is