Freya Silas Finch’s one-hour solo present leaves me feeling aware of my very own gender — like a bandaid I wish to tear away but can’t fairly take away regardless of persistent efforts to pry it off.
At the beginning of A Slow Burlesque Finch addresses the viewers: “You’ll be walking down the street five years later, see a man with a moustache, and suddenly it will all make sense.” This is a sign that, for a lot of, the present’s deeper meanings might stay elusive. A Slow Burlesque is layered, absurd, and intensely bodily. A present which reimagines concepts from each theatre and queer tradition to construct a multifaceted expertise.
Rather than aiming for full comprehension the present’s goal appears to lie in participating the viewers. In the intimate Basement Theater seating wraps intently across the carpeted stage creating alternatives for direct interplay. Sitting within the entrance row I’m a major goal; Finch fingers me the microphone at one level and invitations others to help with costume modifications, like unzipping their apparel or holding a sheer purple glove. These moments draw the viewers into Finch’s world blurring the road between performer and observer.
At a floor degree this present is concerning the efficiency of gender. As Finch turns into the dramatic washed up diva or the Hollywood main man they play with gender stereotypes and use exaggeration (the too brief costume, and the faux muscled physique) to emphasize that gender too is only a efficiency. The fixed circulate of garments coming off, and on, and off (physique components too) one other nod to gender as a dressing up and within the present title itself — a burlesque.
At its core queer efficiency thrives on exaggeration, and Finch dives into this with full indulgence and sincerity. Their efficiency engages each a part of the physique; limbs propel them throughout the stage, as they stand, crawl, and soar, exploring the complete vary of human motion. Their voice follows go well with, shifting by way of accents, tones, singing, booming, and whispering — leaving no component unused in embodying gender. Finch’s heavy, loud, awkward breaths punctuate the efficiency with every breath drawing laughter from the viewers, who believes the sequence is completed, just for Finch to push it additional extending the second till it evolves from comedic to absurdly humorous as soon as extra.
There’s a layer inside A Slow Burlesque that resonates most deeply with these within the queer neighborhood. The efficiency speaks to the expertise of present exterior the binaries of heteronormativity and gender. Finch’s nuanced selections — like outsized footwear that evoke childhood dress-up and the purple gloves and socks slipping off virtually unnoticed, maybe hinting at self-harm — add depth to this exploration.
More than only a efficiency, A Slow Burlesque permits the viewers to really feel seen. Repeatedly, Finch asks, “Whose pain is harder, mine or yours?” I might say that ache, in all varieties, merely seeks acknowledgment; it doesn’t measure itself, however longs to be acknowledged.
A Slow Burlesque performed on the Basement Theatre the third to the nineteenth of October 2024
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