Skip to content

FringeGuru

Home arrow Archive: EdFringe 2013 arrow Nadia Kamil in: Wide Open Beavers!
 
Nadia Kamil in: Wide Open Beavers!
Published on Monday, 12 August 2013
4

4 stars

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV (venue website)
Comedy
31 Jul, 2-11, 13-25 Aug, 3:30pm-4:30pm
Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory

 Recommended for age 14+ only.

Nadia Kamil has produced a silly, clever comedy show about feminism, which is a delight to watch. You might get angry about some of the injustices mentioned in the show – but it would be impossible not to leave with a smile on your face.

The title of the show is eyebrow-raising, and Kamil explains there is no particular reason for her sexy choice. In fact, the main reason seems to be to get an opening couple of minutes’ material out of the fact that the show isn’t what its title suggests. That would normally be an eye-rolling conceit, but her explanation of a literary allusion just about saves her.

That out of the way, we’re off into the show proper. And it is a bold, smart show that manages to take on a subject as divisive as feminism, while barely putting a foot wrong. Kamil even tackles that most wrangled-over of terms, by explaining intersectionality with a jingle. There are lots of jingles, music, and bits of whimsy; there’s even a rap.

I didn’t agree with everything. I’m not sure if burlesque can be dismissed as something that can never be feminist ‘because of the male gaze’, but I’m also not sure if I care about the over-simplification of that argument, given the incredible routine this statement led into. I’ve seen a lot of feminist burlesque in my time and I never realised that the best and most entertaining way to perform it was to take it completely literally.

This is fun, upbeat, endlessly inventive show. Feminist comedy and shows full of feminist ideas are cropping up all over the fringe this year. This is one of the most thoughtful and the most entertaining.

<< Secrets of the Elders of ...   Exposed >>

About our star ratings

We've changed our rating system for this year.

Find out more >>

Follow our reviews!

RSS Subscribe to RSS
Twitter Follow us on Twitter

Editor's Blog

We're blogging this month about the ethics and practice of arts reviewing at the Fringe.  Come and join the discussion.

Visit the blog >>