Tomboy Blues at Exeter's Phoenix

For my 4^th birthday, my parents tried to steer me away from my obsession with cars, cardboard boxes and mud by giving me a doll. I think it was quite expensive; it certainly came with its own little pram. After two days, I’d pulled its head off. For my 5^th birthday, I got Meccano.

With a less-than-girly past of my own, I found a lot to relate to in Mars.tarrab’s latest show, Tomboy Blues – The Theory of Disappointment: the joy of climbing trees, the horror of the ‘nice dress’, and a traumatic experience with culottes. But even if you didn’t spend your youth fighting against your gender and the neat boxes that society tries to force us all into, you’ll find much that hits home is this funny, moving piece.  

Through energetic choreography, hilarious memoir, and a collection of pants, Rachel Mars and nat tarrab explore gender identity, hope, expectation and disappointment. How do we find out who we are? Is it who our families expect us to be? Or is it determined by our genitalia? We are regaled by tales of boy-envy (because while girls are learning to bake, they can spend their time ‘running into each other’), coping with androgyny, and the search for mutual understanding. ‘This is a love story’, we are told, and – ultimately – it is. In examining the fear inherent in opening your heart and soul to another person, in trying to unravel the knots we tie ourselves into, and experimenting with notions of femininity, Tomboy Blues attempts to get the bottom of what love means. And love is about more than finding someone – of whatever gender – with whom you can become the best of yourself, it’s about accepting who you are. Gawd, that makes it sound really po-faced – far from it: this is a fantastically funny piece, laugh out loud, but it is also insightful, heart-warming and life-affirming.  Both Rachel and nat are great performers – natural and charming, full of humanity. The Black Box at The Phoenix is an unforgiving space – the enforced intimacy can easily derail less-assured performers – so it’s a testament to the quality of the writing that the piece felt inclusive rather than in-your-face.

Playing as part of the Exeter Fringe, Tomboy Blues is a co-production with Mars.tarrab and Plymouth’s Barbican Theatre, a part of the Flourish season, which aims to celebrate, showcase and support new work in the South West.  If you missed it at The Phoenix, in Exeter, catch it in Edinburgh in August. It’ll put a smile on your face, which is a real skill.

www.exeterfringe.org.uk

www.marstarrab.co.uk

www.plymouthbarbican.com