Venue: Alumnae Theatre Mainspace, 70 Berkeley St.
Remaining showtimes: July 9, 10, 12, 13 (various times, see Fringe site for more info)
Pussies: we all came from them, and we all share an X chromosome, so why should talking about them feel so transgressive?
In Eleanor O’Brien’s Plan V: The Rise of Reverence, it’s 2035 and fascism has us in a chokehold, banning all talk of pussies, womanhood, and pleasure.
Clandestine resistance meetings celebrate female pleasure, connection and co-regulation, facilitated by an enthusiastic boomer, Mama V, who discovered her bodily autonomy and pleasure in middle age. Better late to the party than never invited!
The show is cute and campy in its defiance, filled with pussy puns and reverence for the power they possess. O’Brien invites connection with the audience through deep breathing and hand squeezes with your neighbour, if so inclined.
Given the proximity of this dystopian future — especially for the American O’Brien — the connection serves as emotional regulation, and O’Brien’s jokes and sharing are her acts of resisting fascism.