5

	Pleasance Dome (venue website) Theatre 1-4, 6-11, 13-18, 20-25 Aug, 5:45pm-6:45pm Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory
Recommended for age 16+ only.

Bryony Kimmings’ latest show – about her attempt to create a celebrity role model for young girls, with the help of a her nine-year-old niece Taylor – is a charming, heartfelt success. At times disturbing, at others sweetly silly, it’s an ambitious piece that challenges and inspires.

Taylor features in the show alongside Kimmings, and is a delightful natural, lighting up the stage every bit as much as her accomplished aunty. Whenever the show gets disturbing, Taylor is protected by ear defenders. And at points Kimmings is overwhelmed by her need to protect Taylor from the way the world objectifies girls – which leads to some grisly moments.

The ideas are very powerful, making unsettling points about how we feel about young girls and the drive to keep them away from a world that can be so hostile to them. Despite the fact this show is about the creation of a pop star called Catherine Bennett, it is definitely not for kids.

There are so many intense, emotional, deeply real sequences in this hour. The case for Catherine, a pop star who has a career working with dinosaurs and likes hanging out with her friends, is convincingly made. I’m not sure I agree with everything put forward; at times it seemed too quick to judge the trashy tastes of tween girls, but I’m all for the idea of Catherine Bennett as an alternative to the mono-culture that’s out there. This is a feminist show, even though that F word is never mentioned.

It isn’t always easy to watch; ideas tumble out, and not all of them work, while others aren’t fully thought through. But this is an impossibly big subject, full of contradictions. Kimmings should be commended for taking this on with such aplomb, coaxing a delightful performance from the relaxed and confident Taylor and creating a genuinely moving, innovative piece of art.