Very niche and very funny!
Rosy Carrick ruminates about the eroticised torture of bodybuilders in mainstream films of the 1980s and her personal sexual exploration through the years. Having co-hosted the poetry stages at Latitude and Glastonbury festivals for the last decade, Rosy has the gift of gab and will have your attention immediately after ‘coming’ into the room. It is not often that we have one-woman comedy take centre stage shamelessly about their first explorations around sex as a child, a teen, an adult, a mother of a teen, or an older woman pursuing exactly what she fancies. This new show is asking a lot of questions about the politics of female pleasure and untangling the creepers of shame, power, and torture around ideas of sexual exploration.
Rosy has created a brand around her keen observation of sex and power dynamics. Being no stranger to awards at the Brighton Fringe and The Infallibles Award, one wonders what new heights this show will reach. Rosy tackles being newly single at 40 and the awkwardness of approaching one’s crush in the gym. She has the audience in splits with phrases like ‘Cunts exploding’ to her ‘Beefcake obsession’. Having resources, Rosy travels to Ohio to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger, founder of the Arnold Sports Festival, which promotes bodybuilding. Her mantra is loud and clear, and with tongue-in-cheek wordplay, she hopes we can become ‘Mastur baters of the Universe’ in finding our way around ‘coming’.
Rosey’s show sets out to write a new script with resources to pursue her exploits. She closely examines movies and moments that took her to a pinnacle of lust and desire. She is extremely curious and makes some significant observations about the 80’s movie sub-cults but with no conversations included in the performance with the Queer community, non-monogamous partners or platforming of the exhaustive research and play involved in BDSM. As a white woman, she has arrived at the platform to cut through the shame and talk about sexual exploration openly, but the show skirts around the more profound issues awkwardly.
Reviewer: Anisha Pucadyil
Reviewed: 24th February 2024
North West End UK Rating: