Brian Beacom

WHEN is a woman not a woman?

Are you female because you decide to call yourself such, even if born a man, with all the man-bits?

The debate exploded last year when feminist Germaine Greer announced transgender women couldn’t truly be considered female - because they had not truly experienced life as a woman.

But of course it’s argued, in these politically correct times, gender distinction is now out of date

The issue is hotly debated in this week’s Oran Mor play, Safe Place.

Clara Glynn’s play tells of how in the middle of the night a young woman Rowan (Shane Convery) arrives at Martine’s door looking for shelter.

But is she all that she seems? The drama explores the tricky relationship between trans rights and feminism.

Jennifer Black plays Martine a radical feminist who when confronted by transsexuality is labelled a TERF.

“That’s a trans-exclusionary radical feminist,” says Jennifer, of her character who argues for ‘natural born women.’

“My character isn’t quite as dogmatic as Germaine Greer has been on this subject.

“She can see completely both sides of the argument. But I think the audience will be very divided.”

Is being a woman simply a state of being, that people are aware of from a very young age?

“This is really what the play is about,” says Jennifer.

“And the world is changing all the time.

“For example, I heard a friend say her children are now at schools with non-gender toilets. And young people are far more accepting.”

The balancing figure in the play is the writer’s agent Nina (Nalini Chetty)

“She plays a little bit of a devil’s advocate and tries to protect my character from herself.”

The actress adds; “But I don’t want to give you her argument because you need to see the play.”

Okay, let’s talk about Jennifer Black. Did she grow up harbouring thoughts of becoming a man?

“No, no,” she says, grinning.

Jennifer grew in Bridge of Weir in Renfrewshire, dreaming in fact of becoming an actor.

She went on to study at Glasgow’s RSAMD and has enjoyed a wide-ranging acting career, starring as a range of fascinating women.

Come to think of it, quite a few of them are rather mad, from Lady Macbeth to Blanche Dubois in Streetcar. Do directors assume she leans easily in the direction of madness?

“I don’t know if that’s the case,” she says, laughing. “But I loved Blanche. I really missed her Deep South voice when I stopped playing her.

“Although I think my favourite role of all time was in The Trick Is To Keep Breathing,” she adds of another fractured female struggling to cope with reality.

Does acting allow for a release at times, to exorcise those little demons?

“Well, I don’t go around feeling I need to kill a king,” she says, smiling of her Mrs Macbeth.

“But is acting a sort of therapy? I suppose it could be. Yes, what’s really great is when audiences see a play like Trick and can relate to the characters. I love that.”

Is it tricky when art replicates real life, when the role mirrors the reality of her private life, however dark?

“Yes, so you have to balance it out, to manage it and prepare, otherwise you would go mad.”

Jennifer also loves comedy. She had a great time appearing in Still Game’s seventies flashback episode and adored her stint in Terry Johnson’s dark comedy, Dead Funny.

“I would have like to have studied forensics,” she says. “I love the science, it’s a bit like putting a jigsaw in place.”

Isn’t acting is a bit like that; you have little pieces of a character which you bring together through rehearsal and produce a completed result?

And then you can offer a complex character who’s a TERF writer but can really balance her politics with her instinct?

“Hopefully,” she says, grinning.

*Safe Place, Oran Mor, until Saturday.