Hen and Chickens Theatre Archives

A Lady Does Not Scratch Her Crotch – Hen and Chickens Theatre

15Aug

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

A Lady Does Not Scratch Her Crotch – Hen and Chickens Theatre

It’s a tale as old as time and a song as old as rhyme. Beauty is painful and beastliness is punishable. For a young girl trying to break the glass ceiling of her blossoming rose’s bell jar there’s just no wiggle room. Written and performed by Celeste Cahn, A Lady Does Not Scratch Her Crotch is permeated with plenty of (a little too) personal details but carries a near universal appeal. Partially thanks to the ubiquity of Disney but in greater part due to the depressing universality of coming-of-age angst and female sexual frustration, A Lady Does Not Scratch Her Crotch hits right in the soft spots of its audience. Cahn is in turns pathetic and poised, cringe-inducing and awe-inspiring. Her generosity with the audience is palpable (really, you can touch, and we’re not playing by P...

Pull My Goldfinger – Hen and Chickens Theatre

Shaken, not stirred, both intoxicating and disgusting, the worst of James Bond is what we love most. Fearless and feckless, this secret agent is on a mission to make a mess. From the deranged mind and nimble body of writer/actor, Carlos Sandin, Pull My Goldfinger is a seductive wingding of a play and a delight to behold and be held by. This absurd and interactive one-man clown show is chock full of buffoonery. Performed with aplomb, surprising sound effects, bare bravado, and unmitigated waggery, this hour’s entertainment is sure to amuse and arouse. Woodwind enthusiasts will be either delighted or horrified to see the tremendous use Sandin manages to put his clarinet to. In fact, there is very little in the playing space that Sandin doesn’t manage to pervert in some delightful a...

That’s Not My Name – Hen and Chickens Theatre

That's not my name Is a powerful solo performance by Sammy Trotman as she is delving through the maze of living with a diagnosis. She is funny, sharp and thought-provoking. Sammy centres her personal experience and uses her keen observation to her advantage. She can create memorable characters like the nurse who hates their work at a psychiatric hospital to a child expressing intense emotions. The collection of stand-alone pieces leaves you on the edge of your seat, as one is not sure if one is empathetically laughing at a private mental breakdown, sniggering at another's misery or resonating at a behaviour we observe in oneself. Sammy's observations span intergenerational trauma, reactions of loved ones to mental illnesses and co-dependent relationships. Her observations are astute, mi...