Everything Theatre Reviews, interviews and news for theatre lovers, London and beyond
Assembly George Square Studios – Underground
A promising show with an identity crisis, which only gives glimmers of content in the closing scene. Summary
Rating
Ok
Those who have followed my reviews over the years might have noticed my keen interest for anything that talks about sex workers or involves nudity. This is because I am a firm believer in the Fringe stage as a powerful platform where people who normally wouldn’t be listened to can find a voice. When it comes to sex work or body acceptance, society likes to keep its head in the sand and it’s reassuring to know that fringe theatre – spearheaded by the Edinburgh Festival – sails against the politically correct and keeps offering an open channel for anyone to share their stories.
Back in 2018, Joana Nastari had a very successful run with Fuck You Pay Me, a semi-autobiographical account of working in a strip club. It premiered at the Vault Festival then opened in Edinburgh and the following year transferred to The Bunker back in London. It was an honest and well-written account on a personal and professional level. At the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Ask a Stripper offered valuable insight into the lack of workers rights in the sex industry and it is also back on this year’s programme.
This year For You: Wicked, presented by London-based pair Fimbo Butures (is that a play on words for bimbo futures?), has a promising blurb about a “dance-camming-performance-art piece” exploring “how sexualised and racialised femme bodies move through capitalism, surveillance and oppression”, so I reserved my seat with much anticipation.
Intended as a reference to life modelling, the first eight minutes of the performance pass with Lizzy Tan hardly changing from a foetal position centre stage and Maya Williams counting down the minutes from amongst the audience. It’s a long time to wait for something to happen, but hopes are still high. Following a not-so-sleek ballet routine, the artists again break the fourth wall to come and sit with us. They hand out QR codes and ask for some more money: £5 to buy them a drink, £10 to pay for one of the empty seats or £25 to hop on stage with them and be part of a dance. I look at the time whilst they talk to each person individually (there are only about ten of us) and I realise that the first half of the show is gone without anything of significance having been said nor done. Surely, this is building up to a huge twist? – I tell myself.
The second half, and more specifically the closing scene, is more accomplished. Drawing from art history, it gives a stereotypical representation of the female body, juxtaposing Western and Eastern visuals. No words are spoken, but the soundscape and slow gestures that accompany the ritual – which includes references to water, earth and fire – gives us a chance to think. Meaning finally starts coming through, but it’s too little, too late and the show is over.
On my way home, still thinking that there must be some more to it, I scan the QR code, hopeful that perhaps this will link to a web page with a message or some sort of further development. Alas, it really is just their PayPal account!
Choreographed by: Maya Williams and Lizzy Tan
Produced by: Fimbo Butures
For You: Wicked plays at EdFringe 2023 until 26 August, 7:45pm at Assembly George Square Studios. Further information and bookings here.
