Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again @ Soho Rep

FINALLY! A play that pokes and prods and slices and tickles at language and the female voice (and mouth, really). REVOLT.SHE SAID.REVOLT AGAIN. is this master culmination of every single female voice and the strides they’ve made in the theatre unfolding and, quite literally, exploding in your face in an hour and 5 minutes. No intermission. No break to think. But you do get a snack.

You see, this play is comprised of different surrealist/absurdist conversations, which seem absolutely insane at first, then either you become desensitized and fall into their psyche or they just finally arrive to these totally accessible thoughts that MAKE YOU MAD. & yes, you totally want to revolt!

 And there are these projections on the wall that help you realize what the hell youre mad about! “Revolutionize the language (invert it)” “Revolutionize the world (don’t reproduce)” etc.

A particularly stunning vignette was Daniel Abeles and Eboni Booth’s characters interactions with Molly Bernard’s character who laid down in aisle 7 of a supermarket with her dress over her head covered in watermelon (watermelon becomes a theme within all these stories). Bernard has this absolutely heart wrenching speech about a woman’s body and if you crave hurt and sex and war, when it all inevitably comes to you, you will be unphased. Because you have allowed it.  

What an amazing fit director Lileana Blain Cruz was to Alice Birch’s words.  She mastered the simplicity and stark, alienating tone of the first half, and the gutting, explosive second half.  Adam Rigg’s set design was super smart and only enhanced this shifting piece and aided to Blain Cruz’s movement.

The actors were top notch- especially for mastering the unique nuances of British drama. Molly Bernard was undoubtedly the heart and soul of the piece.  Her versatility and insights to these different characters she represented is an everlasting vision. Jennifer Ikeda was most powerful in her “Revolutionize the world” portion- physically invested, tears dripping from her face. Eboni Booth was stunning in that portion as well, cutting off her tongue and puking on the table. Daniel Abeles had a tough job as the “token male”, but did it with finesse.

 

And the rest? You must (must must) go see for yourself.  It is certainly the diadem on the crown of feminist theatre. You’ll be thinking about this one for years to come, and who knows? Maybe we will become one step closer to a revolution. 

Review By: Brittany Goodwin
Photos By:  Julieta Cervantes