Soho Theatre Archives - Page 39 of 52

Does my Bomb Look Big in This?

Soho Theatre

Reviewed – 22nd May 2019

★★★★

“provocative, creative, and a joy to watch”

It’s not easy to tell an important story, especially when everyone else wants to tell it for you.

Nyla Levy was tired of playing the “Jihadi Bride” in projects that neither knew nor cared about the experiences of such women. In Does My Bomb Look Big in This? she not only reclaims that narrative, but revamps it entirely. About five minutes into Aisha’s explanation of why her best friend Yasmin ended up in Syria, Yasmin herself storms onstage and demands to be involved. ‘This is my story,’ she complains, ‘and you’re telling it boringly.’ The cast take note, and the ninety minutes that follows is an effortlessly funny, affecting, and self-aware piece of theatre.

The friendship between the two girls is the core of this story. Halema Hussain (Aisha) and Nyla Levy (Yasmin) share a strong chemistry that makes their innate understanding of each other feel completely natural. It is this bond that facilitates the eloquent discussions of religious, racial, and political identity that permeate the play. Levy does not demonise or judge the girls for their actions; both performers invite empathy and understanding. The fact that they perform in front of their school lockers is a reminder of how out of their depth they truly are.

But the best moments are those in which both the script and the actors are aware of the fact that this is a performance. The highlight was when Actor Three (enlisted to play all the white characters – brilliantly portrayed by Eleanor Williams) breaks out of character to express her disappointment that ‘every character I play is so one dimensional’. What starts as a parody of white privilege ends with Actor Three being ordered, by Yasmin, to wear a hijab and play the role of Yasmin’s mum. This provocative decision not only forces Actor Three to confront her ignorant sense of entitlement, but forces white audience members to do the same. Once again, Levy makes us aware of how little these stories belong to us and – for all our apparent wokeness – how minimal our understanding of British Asian experience is.

When staff at the Soho Theatre announced that the house was open for this show, the ‘edgy’ title seemed to shock some of those around me. The apparent surprise that such a show exists reinforces the importance of Does My Bomb Look Big in This? – which, for the record, I wouldn’t call ‘edgy’; that would imply a lack of substance. I would call it provocative, creative, and a joy to watch.

Reviewed by Harriet Corke

Photography by Bettina Adela

Does my Bomb Look Big in This?

Soho Theatre until 8th June

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Chasing Bono | ★★★★ | December 2018

Garrett Millerick: Sunflower | ★★★★ | February 2019

Soft Animals | ★★★★ | February 2019

Angry Alan | ★★★★ | March 2019

William Andrews: Willy | ★★★★★ | April 2019

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

★★★★★

“most definitely a comedy, but as is the case with most brilliant comedies, it is rooted in something more serious”

If you absolutely MUST share your most acute weaknesses, your most graphic desires, your most fragile self, all while dancing like nobody’s watching, with ninety-odd people watching, you best make it worth a roaring standing ovation. In what they describe as a “sweaty verbatim dance party” Mary Higgins and Ell Potter (collectively ‘Hotter’) have created a show that is simultaneously vulgar to the extreme and yet overwhelmingly joyous and – somehow – wholesome.

Jessica Edwards directs a frenzied revue of the female and/or feminine experience, as told through a patchwork of verbatim answers from various women and trans people. The subject matter covers sex, sexiness, masturbation, menstruation, love, dancing, vulnerability, and insecurity. Answers are mostly lip-synced by Higgins and Potter who skilfully embody the assorted characters, and as each segment picks up pace, the recorded answers are mixed and remixed to become a surprisingly vibey dance track for some serious dance moves. As the duo gets ‘hotter’, layers of faux fur are steadily removed to reveal sequins and shimmer fabric, which in turn are peeled off to reveal neon spandex and, later, bras and knickers.

The ridiculousness of the show is not lost on the performers. In fact, their ability to laugh at themselves is part of what makes it such a joy to watch. But the thread that brings it all together – the ecstatic and erotic with the heart-felt and heart-breaking – is the sense that a community has been called upon to create it. Whilst there is a strong autobiographical element, it’s really just one story among many being told, as is made clear throughout with Higgins and Potter consistently citing all the women who contributed.

‘Hotter’ is most definitely a comedy, but as is the case with most brilliant comedies, it is rooted in something more serious. Potter and Higgins seem as afraid as anyone to expose themselves, both figuratively and physically, to an audience of total strangers, but they’ve done it anyway, and to great effect.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Sophia Burnell

Soho Theatre

Reviewed – 22nd May 2019

★★★★

“provocative, creative, and a joy to watch”

It’s not easy to tell an important story, especially when everyone else wants to tell it for you.

Reviewed by Harriet Corke

Photography by Bettina Adela

Does my Bomb Look Big in This?

Soho Theatre until 8th June

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Soho Theatre

Reviewed – 1st May 2019

★★★★★

“most definitely a comedy, but as is the case with most brilliant comedies, it is rooted in something more serious”

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Sophia Burnell

Hotter

Soho Theatre until 15th June

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

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