Review: THE CITY OF LADIES, Camden People's Theatre

Welcome to the garden, populated by the muses Rectitude, Reason and…Justice is nowhere to be seen. Lady Christine de Pizan, the french writer, has an idea to build an entire city by women for women. But she needs all the help she can get, cue the muses. The trouble is, what does it actually mean to be a woman?

This performance marks the show’s official debut as part of Camden People’s Theatre’s Sprint Fest. Sprint Fest is an annual event that lasts for three weeks at the venue. It aims to give early career artists the chance to debut their work to a public audience. A number of very successful artists, such as Sh!t Theatre and Vijay Patel, have previously taken part in the festival when they were first starting out, making the festival one to keep an eye out for.

This show embraces the fact that it is a fringe show and we love to see this. The black box theatre is lined with a range of intriguing costumes and props, and a PowerPoint backdrop is displayed on the back wall, giving the show a home- made feel, which makes sense given what the premise of the show is.

The costumes themselves are the types of costumes someone might wear to a university fancy dress club night, which works really well because this show is about the women who utilised what they had and made an impact in spite of their circumstances. It is easy to underestimate low-budget shows, but consider that the costuming in Operation Mincemeat, during its very early days, was the result of whatever the creative team on the production had access to with their limited budget - and that’s now a highly successful West End and Broadway show.

We’ll admit that we went into this show somewhat unsure about what to expect but found ourselves genuinely invested right from the outset. For starters, who doesn’t want to be offered grapes from two Goddesses as they walk into the theatre? Then the show really begins with sharp-witted and pacey comedy. Polly Chedgzoy and Morgan Obermeyer have perfect comedic timing and really understand how to keep a comedy bit going. They aren’t afraid to look ridiculous on stage, which is what makes them so freeing to watch because they’re able to give the audience permission to laugh. They fluidly mix visual gags with word-based gags meaning that we find ourselves in hysterics throughout the show.

However, there are times where the actors speak so fast that we could barely catch what they were saying, so perhaps slowing down a bit during the more dialogue-dense sections of the show would be beneficial. Additionally, the scene transitions can seem overly long and disorganised at times, meaning that sometimes the rhythm of the show drops.

Although, it must be said that these actors are very good at making an audience feel comfortable during moments of potential participation, which results in a very reactive and keen audience. They’re clever because they don’t always require audience members to come up on stage, meaning that those who don’t like going up in front of a large group of people can still get involved with the show from the comfort of their seat.

The comedy doesn’t overshadow the meaningful message behind the show, which is why it works so well. Whilst the story does explore women’s rights and ideas about femininity, it also acknowledges female identifying people and the queer, femme community. This ensures that the show stays relevant in spite of being predominantly historical, and asks audiences to consider what womanhood really consists of. It highlights the histories of important and overlooked women in a highly entertaining way, meaning that it's educational without seeming so. It uses language which is easy to understand without underestimating the intellect of the audience and finds a way to make difficult topics significantly more digestible whilst fully acknowledging the reality. We find ourselves leaving the venue feeling significantly more enlightened and hopeful than when we walked in.

A perfect balance of education and entertainment. Inclusive and accessible. The best fun and an absolute joy to watch.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Megan O’Neill

The City of Ladies heads to Brighton Fringe in May, with further info here.