Review: BANGING DENMARK, Finborough Theatre
Photo credit: Ali Wright
Banging Denmark by Australian playwright Van Bandam, who is also a well known Australian social commentator and former Literary Manager of the Finborough Theatre, premiered in in 2019 at The Sydney Opera House. Finally making its UK debut at the delightful Finborough that champions contemporary work, this is a must see production.
It is the tale of an unlikely friendship between Jake, an undercover pick up artist who is worshipped by an angry league of incel’s (involuntary celibate), and the feminist academic Ishtar Madigan who is not afraid for an internet fight, although, is living in a photocopier room after being destroyed by misogamist internet trolls. We meet them once their battles have been had and attempts to destroy the likes of each other are over. They realise where they can be of use to one another in a different way and it is all because of a Danish woman named Anne.
Anne is a symbol for her country, which has been a pioneer in the plight for gender equality and social care. She is intelligent, beautiful and disarming. No pick up artist, even the best of the best, has a chance. Jake wants her but only someone like Ishtar can help him with the ultimate pick up!
This is a fresh, comedic and lively take on the rage inducing subject that casts a shadow over our society. Talk of toxic masculinity and the fragility of manhood once women assert their voice and autonomy has induced behaviours that are manipulative and downright scary in groups of men who believe they have a right to use women for their needs and pleasure. It is a stab at the ideologies of these men and those who champion the dangerous subculture.
This play is clever in many ways, particularly how it acknowledges that women do want to have sex, that everyone can feel lonely and we might make decisions that are not the smartest at times, but this does not mean that pick up artists are justified in their actions. The tactics that pick up artists use can and do often work because they are crafted to respond to natural human desire and chemical make up but just because you can, does not mean that you then own whoever you encounter to play with them as you wish. Furthermore, if you are self described as an incel, you are not entitled to claim what is believed to be your right through forms of violence and sexual harassment. In a non forceful or preachy way, this lighthearted take on the topic shows that there can be another way to accept the complicated phenomenon that is intimacy.
Performances are, across the board, strong under the direction of Sally Woodcock. Rebecca Blackstone as the eccentric feminist protagonist in exile is completely engaging from start to finish. Her delivery of Bandam’s witty and fast paced text lands every note of irony and comedy perfectly. Likewise, the more dry yet at times cooky Dane, Anne, played by Maja Simonsen, a native of the gender equality promised land, offers an energy and delivery that contrasts with Blackstone, and successfully disrupts the general debate between the sexes so as to drive the story into uncharted territory for all the characters. Jodie Track who plays Ishtar’s sidekick, Dr. Denyse Kim, and James Hip who plays Dr. Kim’s ‘friend’ Toby are a delight to watch. Their sub plots offer a richer exploration into the relationship that men and women can develop. Overall, the dynamic of the characters could easily be turned into a television sitcom.
The production qualities are simple yet effective. In an intimate space such as the Finborough, it is all it needs. The work is confident and in a way understated, which helps it to feel more accessible.
Banging Denmark is an out of the norm rom-com with a strong message. The utopia it proposes between the sexes feels a long way off in reality but this is a very enjoyable fantasy nonetheless.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Stephanie Osztreicher
Banging Denmark plays at the Finborough Theatre until 11 May, with further info here.