On Thursday evening I made my monthly pilgrimage to The Soho Theatre. I decided awhile ago that I was not taking full advantage of all the wonderful opportunities that London affords to see live performance. So as a solution I vowed to go and see something each month that I had never heard of. This was how I discovered Lady Rizo and saw shows like The Children's Hour, so far I'd had pretty amazing luck.
Whilst in the queue for Lady Rizo last month I saw a poster of what looked like quite a bolshy young woman holding her jacket open to reveal a studded bra.The look on her face said 'You like this? Of course you do.' I'd like to think it's a similar face to what I would make if I was opening my jacket and exposing my bra to you. So I booked tickets to this lady's performance knowing nothing about her, but that she was probably American and that she had awesome hair. The title of the show was 'Am I Right, Ladies?' So I was looking forward to seeing if she was.
I make it a practice to not Google my monthly performances (not a euphemism.) I like to be surprised and to always see live acts with an unprejudiced eye. I'll spare you the details of how we (myself and my gorgeous companion Hannah) arrived super early (see post about Lady Rizo) and queued up for ages and then ran downstairs like two squealing children only to be told that the show was, in fact two floors up and had already started. Face palm.
Once we found the right theatre and were told off for trying to bring glass in, we were shown to our seats which were on the right side of the balcony. A woman was on stage, who I have to say looked little like the promotional poster. She was blonde, not dark haired and looked younger, thinner and slightly less glamorous. I suppose replacing a fur coat and a studded bra with a PVC skirt and plimsoles will do that to a girl.
To the soundtrack of Beyonce she was shuffling/dancing around the stage, clearly waiting for idiots like us to take our seats. Once we had, she introduced herself and then demanded we demonstrate some of our dance moves. I loved her already. From rapid shoulder-raises to a miniature cabbage patch we were all moving in unison and giving Luisa our 'sex face.' It is at this stage that I realized she was not American, but British. No American has an accent, or a sex face like hers.
Once she had suitably warmed us up, she began by telling us that she had already had one very successful show a few years ago and that this was her sequel. She got standing ovations every night, but alas her life was still full of one night stands and bus rides home. From the first few statements out of Luisa's mouth, 'And when I say bitches, I mean the men too. Equality.' It was apparent that she was a feminist who was doing an incredibly inclusive show, but speaking from her very personal experience. This was going to be something really exciting.
Luisa managed to celebrate her body, comparing her little pot-belly to a Prada bag, without putting anyone else down. There was no mention of 'skinny bitches.' There were no comparisons. She was telling her story with passion, power, total hilarity and managed to keep every single woman and man in that theatre on her side. It was such a finely crafted show that none of us wanted to move when she stepped off stage, but at the same time we all wanted to bum-rush her and congratulate her on doing such a fantastic job.
It would be a cliche to describe her show as 'brave' but it really was. From recounting loveless sexual encounters to the heartbreak of being cheated on and the incredibly accurate statements she makes about gender equality and mental illness, she's fucking brave and I wish that we were seeing more of her and seeing more comedians like her emerging.
In today's society where even my beloved Lee Evans has started to make domestic violence jokes in a bid to appear relevant, comics like Luisa are doing it totally effortlessly and without being abrasive or offensive. You leave the show wanting to be her friend and wanting to thank her for saying a million things you've always been thinking. She is the representation of what it means to be young, broke and single in London. I don't want to spoil things for you, but there are many splendid surprises peppered throughout the show and each one is expertly timed. She breaks your heart, makes you rise to your feet in solidarity and cheer until your throat is raw for this wonderful show and this incredible woman.
'Am I Right Ladies?' has finished its short run at The Soho Theatre, but its predecessor 'What Would Beyonce Do?' Is running at The Leciester Square Theatre. You can get tickets here: http://www.seetickets.com/event/luisa-omielan-what-would-beyonce-do/leicester-square-theatre/792809
Come with me! And you can find out more about Luisa here: http://www.iloveluisa.com/
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