An Early Exit
Jan Carson

Read Except a Man: introductory essay and five monologues

An Early Exit by Jan Carson was read by Helena Bereen and directed by Emily Foran with sound and music composition by Die Hexen, live recording and sound editing by Ian Jordan, and produced by the MAC.

Except A Man is a series of monologues and introductory essay written by Belfast-based writer, Jan Carson in response to John T. Davis’ 1989 documentary, Dust on the Bible. Dust on the Bible remains a stunning snapshot of evangelical Protestant culture in Northern Ireland in the late 1980s. Carson grew up on the peripheries of this community and was, from an early age, aware that it was a male-dominated landscape with few opportunities for women to make their opinions or experiences known. Each of the five monologues reflects the experience of one of the women who appear briefly in the documentary. They are -for the most part- silent, as they would have been in the religious communities they belonged to. In allowing these women to voice their thoughts and feelings, Carson seeks to explore the role of women in the evangelical Protestant tradition and lend them some degree of autonomy.