An absurd blend of queer quirky clowning mashed with vaudeville style moves makes for an infatuating piece of physical theatre.
We meet Shirley and Dotty who appear as 50s Stepford wives, with their airbrushed interactions they could have stepped straight off the pages of Good Housekeeping magazine. This happy well-kept housewife persona slowly comes apart at the seams and upon closer inspection, their pretty dresses are smeared with strange green smudges and garish clown make up, unmasking the reality of beauty standards put upon them.
This is physical theatre at its finest, the precision in movement and attention to detail is a delight to watch. Peculiar and fast movements, like quirky tics, beautifully compliment the narrative which is interspersed with creepy, unnerving tableaus.
This brilliant two hander tears up the narrow perception of women’s roles traditionally framed by domesticity and motherhood. Accompanied by intervals of heavy beats, what happens before us is an unleashing of suppressed personal desires, bringing its hosts on the verge of a total breakdown as they try to maintain order and routine.
Escapism and solace are found in fantasies of lustful cannibalism, hungry for excitement and a challenge of the norm, which is shown through the haphazard and nonlinear repetition of scenes, it feels like a bad dream, a never-ending nightmare.
The footsteps on the ceiling and the persistent knocking on the door stop Shirley and Dotty dead in their tracks, suggesting an underlying danger which squeezes their mechanical pleasantries until they start peeling back the unfulfillment and frustration buried beneath the façade.
What if they ate the baby? served up by three-time, Fringe First Award winners, Xhloe and Natasha, is making its mark having kept a full audience captivated from the start.
Book tickets https://www.thespaceuk.com/shows/2025/what-if-they-ate-the-baby
Reviewer: Gill Lewis
Reviewed: 11th August 2025
North West End UK Rating: