Written by Hana Pascal Keegan, Gabriella Sloss and Robert Softley Gale
Directed by Robert Softley Gale
Review by Libbi Hutton
Unapologetic and provocative, Birds of Paradise’s “(We Indulge in) a bit of roll play” radically addresses disability and sex in a world “built to keep us apart”. With simulated sex scenes and a wheelchair inclusive circus performance, narrow preconceptions of disability were torn apart.
After a stand-up style introduction by comedian Rosie Jones, the play opens with a simulated sex scene between a heterosexual married couple whereby we are introduced to what ‘normal’ looks like. This radical choice launches the audience into the charged and untraditional content of the show. Jones jokingly warns us that “it gets worse before it gets better!” And indeed, the show does not concern itself with modesty, and punches through more conservative ideas of what is allowed on stage. The act of simulating sex through the medium of live performance, unlike in film, allows for it to be witnessed from many angles. It cannot be curated and perfected like it so often is in film, therefore showing sex as inherently messy and vulnerable, further prompting the audience to question traditional conceptions of sex in the media and arts.
The fantastical plot takes us from a regular family kitchen setting to a club-utopia where colourful lighting and well curated queer club music turns the play into a cabaret for around twenty minutes. Robert Softley Gale‘ direction and Hana Pascal Keegan, Gabriella Sloss and Gale‘s writing seems to focus less on the quality of writing and character development, so as to focus more on the technicolour celebration of queer bodies and live performance. In this regard, the show was a joyous display of pride and a call to personal bodily autonomy, rather than a wider educative play.
Humour is the shows’ driver and was utilised throughout to address more serious topics that are often hard to speak about. The balance between light-hearted humour and the unjust reality of life as a disabled person was juggled wisely. Between displays of anger and joy from Ed Larkin and Zoë Hunter, there was the sincere emphasis on the importance of community to combat the isolation that divergent folk often feel. Jones, acting as a guiding ethereal character, prompted us to realise that we can all be each other’s supportive networks. This is a life-affirming reminder, and as we left the theatre, there was a palpable sense of hope and consideration for fellow audience members.
Not only was this show affirming for those disabled artists and audiences, but for anyone who has ever felt ashamed of their body, or felt that existing structures do not accommodate for them. Although the show was not necessarily intended to ‘educate’, the lasting impact of witnessing bodily autonomy and sexual liberation first-hand from a disabled cast must have a profound impact on previously uninformed audience members.
Unapologetic and Provocative
(We Indulge In) a bit of roll play ran at The Glasgow Tramway
Running time – Ninety minutes without interval
Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic
Review by Libbi Hutton – contact@corrblimey.uk
Libbi is an aspiring journalist and creative based in Glasgow. A graduate of Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh, she is particularly interested in politically engaged and experimental arts. Outside of reviewing for Corr Blimey, Libbi spends her free time making music, both in bands and on her own, which has recently developed into a passion for writing an original musical. A lover of all-things-performance, Libbi welcomes the opportunity to indulge in the world of theatre.
