Five self-proclaimed “sexy gals”, as they state, sing their way through the minefield of navigating being a young woman today. For anyone thinking this has been done before – it hasn’t been done like this. They are “perfectly normal women” they sing, “with eyes, and smiles, and boobs” in a fun and refreshingly honest way; then as they start arguing between them about boob sizes, change the lyric to “dysfunctional women” which raises quite a laugh.
We follow the five women who don’t know how to deal with their various insecurities and things that stop them from being “perfect”, to Camp Tart Tamer. The voice of a sexist misogynist man comes over the speakers reinforcing the rules of being women they have to abide by, rules that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a hideous ‘housewife’s handbook’ from the 1950s. Amongst the advice is that they should cry, as “crying is good for weight loss”. They have to dress in skimpy camouflage jumpsuits, and become the numbers on the suits, lose their names and just get referred to as “babe”. Of course this is an uncomfortable allegory but due to the comedy nature of how they perform, it’s highly entertaining, and actually helps us see the ridiculousness of what is being requested.
The songs are vibrant and delightfully every word is clear. All five sing, and in some songs one performer plays a keyboard, and in others another performer plays a guitar. The comedy dance routines really stand out, are unusual and very clever and modern, using body percussion in some places as well as being drilled, in time and tight. Hugely entertaining.
What’s especially exciting about this piece is that it raises some interesting points and questions. The jealousy and judgements between women for example, which obviously all come from a place of being insecure that what you are is not good enough. Is there some ideal that young women today should all be striving to be? Who decides if someone is a “10” and what difference does it make anyway? If you’re scared of not being lovable then the answers will be very important. If we look at the world we are in then yes, even in the action movies there are strong, independent women – but look closer. “Women can’t fight unless their sexy” they sing, and looking at the images they’re not wrong. There is little difference between how Emma Peel from the TV show The Avengers looks, compared with the Black Widow of the Marvel Franchise: and they are 60 years apart. At least now, progressive and supportive parents are telling their five year old daughters that they can be anything they want to be. Yet when they reach 13, they are told they have to “play the game” to survive in the world which seeks to at best undermine and at worst to attack women; simply for being women. “Will it ever change, I don’t think it will change” they sing. All the songs come together in the end in a gorgeous polyphony.
The songs are clever and full of energy, as are all the performances. It’s a slick and well-rehearsed piece that packs a punch that you don’t expect from a comedy. A funny yet thought provoking production that energises, rather than leaves you feeling flat with fatalism.
Rotunda Bubble, 17 May 2024
60 Minutes Of Mood Swings Runs 17 & 18 May 2024
Photos credit: Sean Wiltshire
