Review: Ugly Sisters, Soho Theatre

In 1970 Germaine Greer published her seminal feminist text, The Female Eunuch, arguing that women have been socially conditioned to repress their sexuality and desires, effectively becoming eunuchs in a patriarchal society. On the day it was published, a trans woman in the US ran up to Greer to thank her for “all that you have done for us girls”. Greer herself, in a 1989 publication, was clear about her disdain of the woman, referring to her as to ‘it’ with: “the enormous, knuckley, hairy, be-ringed paw” with “pancake make-up through which the stubble was already burgeoning”. In subsequent conversations and interviews, Greer continued to reject trans women as women.

Ugly Sisters is a part enactment, part retelling, part caricature of that moment and the positioning and evolving of trans women in the decades that have occurred since; the title itself serving as a stark reminder of how trans women are often perceived by society.

The staging is minimal, and as the audience settle two actors face each other for really quite a long time. One (Charli Cowgill) is tall and elegant, wearing the highest heels which are given extra height by a Perspex platform. She is striking and slightly androgynous. The other (Laurie Ward), wears a full head, woollen, pink mask, eyes grotesquely highlighted with black liner; an artificial, plumped, bright red set of lips; and an off-the-shoulder, over-the-top jade ball gown. Her hair is adorned with tatty blonde extensions. She is the epitome of caricature drag.

The action starts when the role of Greer takes the podium, Ward runs to her, as adoring fan, and is confused and embarrassed when rejected by Greer. At this stage in the performance, it seems to make sense that Cowgill is Greer; she’s tall and glamorous, with Ward, by contrast slightly shorter and fuller of figure (or at least in that outfit). This is just one of the ways that the pair play with assumptions around identity and belonging. What initially follows is a surreal, hallucinatory sequence with fighting and passion and dirt, interwoven with Greer’s speech. Greer is seemingly killed, and audience members are asked to pick her up, cover her with dirt and let her lie on the corner of the stage.

As the piece continues, it inhabits a liminal space between reality and performance as Greer is exposed for her betrayal of the trans community and the searing transphobia in her words. The characters continue to evolve, physically as well as mentally, and the audience’s perception of identity is deliberately challenged. It’s physical performance art: brave, unnerving, arduous and deliberately disconcerting. They swap characters at times, and incorporate audience members who are sympathetic and maternal: providing a safe space when the wider community does not.

It’s also authentic, made possible by the fact that the performers are also the creators. As the performance unfolds, their identities shift and evolve constantly, representing the way others see them, and the way they have been positioned in society over the years. By the end, they face the audience with honesty and the audience rises together, embracing them not for who they pretended to be, but for who they truly are.

Ugly Sisters is moving, thoughtful and particularly relevant in the moment of history we find ourselves in.

Produced by: Bronagh Leneghan
Directed by: Joanna Pidcock

Ugly Sisters plays at Soho Theatre until Monday 14 July.