Women's Hour

Women's Hour. An Hour for Women. One out of 24. Sh!t Theatre are painfully aware that just like Radio 4's flagship programme, they might not have quite enough time to completely cover all the political, social, and economic intricacies of womanhood. But they're going to have a damn good try.

The resulting performance is a radio show on speed. Louise Mothersole and Rebecca Biscuit zip between segments at supersonic velocity. There are sonorous impressions of Jenni Murray. Feminist riffs on R. Kelly. Princess fairy toy adverts soundtracked by their harmonious impressions of Joan Baez. And the slapstick of an unnecessarily gendered Kinder Egg, smashed and crumbled with delicate lady hands.

Mothersole and Biscuit make a striking double act, completely human under their smeared white face paint and distintegrating drag. Their Duracell bunny-like energy offers a constant unspoken argument against the delicate, hyper-feminine products they comment on, but the satire is explicit as well as subtle. They send up tampons being taxed as luxury items with Frost and French-style silliness ("ooh, pop one in, such a treat!") but save their real anger for the constant sexualisation of women, subverting the pornographic overload that's always waiting just a click away. 

In their performance, time seems to stop completely, with a narrative that goes round and round in circles instead of onwards and upwards. Much like debates on feminism. Part of Sh!t Theatre's brilliance is in sending up both sexism and its critics in one joyous swoop, making a thing as sweet, well-rounded and surprising as a Kinder Egg.