Womanhood is investigated through a devised piece that centres Germaine Greer’s inflammatory attitude towards trans women
Thank you. Thank you so much for all you’ve done for us girls.
The award winning company piss/CARNATION, which stunned last year’s fringe with their verbatim production 52 Monologues for Young Transexuals, bring a new work to the festival. Ugly Sisters, an experimental, devised piece, explores trans identity, womanhood and what it means to actually be a feminist.
Upon the publication of Germaine Greer’s famous work, The Female Eunuch, a trans woman thanked her for everything she had done for women. This event stayed in Greer’s mind for decades, leading her to write a transphobic article about the incident that displayed her true feelings towards the trans community.
But it is how Charli Cowgill and Laurie Ward explore this moment in history that is the stunning part of Ugly Sisters. Constructed through a devised process, the piece explores queer history with elements of in-yer-face theatre, audience participation and even a literary panel. The scope with which Cowgill and Ward investigate the trans community’s relationship to Germaine Greer, and vice versa, is expansive and specific, giving emotional weight to moments in history that could easily be lost.
The piece manages to feel both messy and perfectly put together at the same time. The winding and nonsensical structure perfectly conveys the disorder of gender politics, especially today.
Timeless and urgent at once, Ugly Sisters is a piece that needs to be experienced.