FESTIVAL FEATURES | Feminist Theatre

RUDE

AWAKENING Gareth K Vile muses on three shows that are revolutionising the patriarchal norms of theatre

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T he usual tepid acknowledgements of ‘feminist content’ no longer apply: stunning theatre shows at this year’s Fringe are exploding the lazy assumptions and polite formality hidden in the very structure of theatre. Illicit Thrill, Dr Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman and Wild Bore share an anarchic disrespect for the pieties of the play, drawing on cabaret inl uences, subverting the male gaze, mashing together broad humour and i erce intelligence in combinations that suggest a revolution in dramaturgy.

tragic male protagonists standing While all three shows refuse to conform to predictable storytelling, their intentions are diverse but clearly feminist. There are no in for everyman, but a multiplicity of voices informing and confusing. Nudity is not merely an instrument for titillation but a confrontation with the commodii cation of the female body. In rupturing the way that the shows are structured, they crack open the possibility of a theatre that expresses both the oppression of patriarchal values and a future freedom which melts boundaries between high and low art, genders, desire and fuli lment.

Wild Bore is the most obviously aggressive

(turn to page 77 for our review). By using bad reviewing as a foundation for a rel ection on the values of performance, they trap critics by forcing them to make a personal response to the show. Sardonically mocking the false objectivity of the critical voice and referencing non-binary experience, Wild Bore celebrates a confusion that is informed and creative.

Illicit Thrill: Tits, Tease and Ten Pound Notes dives into the disreputable world of the strip- club to examine the relationship between the punter and the dancer, using Dr Gypsy Charms’ academic research and experience as one of Scotland’s pioneering burlesque artists. Meanwhile, Dr Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman repurposes cabaret tricks within a formal lecture to reclaim the magic of menstruation. The cabaret inl uence runs through all the shows, in the presentation of individual routines, the gleeful subversion, the desire to entertain and the fragmented narratives: the three-act structure, the noble yet l awed hero, the pieties of political theatre are augmented by sly wit and a constant undermining of any authority. Yet each production retains a serious intention behind the fun, and while they attack different targets, they hit them more powerfully because of the playfulness.

Their coni dence in their material and bold breaking of format unites these shows as much as their fearless advocacy of freedoms beyond the accepted norms. Dr Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman deals with a taboo subject, Wild Bore insults the guardians of quality and Illicit Thrill invites the audience to admit their complicity in the act of watching. Whether the companies would acknowledge their similarities is moot: there are key members of the burlesque and cabaret revival in each production, and their methods have evolved from the fearlessness and urgency of activism. Taken together, these shows provide a way past the rich histories of patriarchal theatre, laugh at the passive acceptance of traditional performance styles and champion a theatre of laughter, informed confusion and liberation.

Dr Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman, Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 Aug (not 21), 2pm, £8–£10 (£7–£9).

Illicit Thrill: Tits, Tease and Ten Pound Notes, The Voodoo Rooms, 17–20, 24–27 Aug, 11.55pm, £10. Wild Bore, Traverse, until 27 Aug (not 21), times vary, £21.50 (£9.50–£16.50).

Illicit Thrill

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Dr Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman Wild Bore

14 THE LIST FESTIVAL 17–28 Aug 2017