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WILD-HER-NESS! @ Four5Nine Bar gets 8/10


WILD-HER-NESS! @ Four5Nine Bar (Rosemount Hotel)
Tuesday, January 22, 2019

8/10

A full room with an audience of diverse age range. We waited patiently and spoke amongst each other as most people observed the stage props and set-up. The stage consisted of a fur rug under a bench, a vase of flora, a trash can, a random short haired Barbie doll, and a corner stand with velvet curtains that hid something that looked very peculiar underneath. A moody room setting. As the star for the evening Poppy Sloan walked onto the stage, her spoken word flowed out like a stream. Telling the tale of a girl becoming a woman. A relatable approach to what it’s like to be a woman today and all the feels and spills that come with it.

“Being a woman is a feeling.” Poppy stated this in her intro and the message resonated throughout her show. She took us on a colourful journey of going through puberty and performing under the notion of not a girl, and not yet a woman.

The scene opened with Poppy representing an 11 year old girl. She was dancing in her pajamas like no one was watching; happy-go-lucky. The story unfolded with the character going through consecutive nuclear family events and relationship traumas. Speaking in metaphors, as Poppy delved into adolescence, it was a reminder of how complex being a young person with changes could be. It took us on an emotional roller coaster ride. The story then deviated to her menstruation story – the first time getting your period. She brings out a collection of colossal items which included a tampon, a pad, a vagina with a human interactive clitoral head, and lastly a menstrual cup! Sloan even covered the topic on IUD and shared the experience of receiving one.

The scene was then followed by a playful twist on audience engagement. We got asked to pull a fact card out of a giant menstrual cup and decide with everyone whether the statements were trash or treasure (true or false facts) and the cards we pulled out covered all sorts of topics.

The show was done in a clever way, educational for some and for others it made people laugh out loud, cringe and produce tears.

WILD-HER-NESS! left me double taking on the choices we make as an individual. How society has shaped us to perceive gender and sexuality. It left asking me questions like, should I be trimming my bush or growing it into a beautiful forest? Why we do the things we do. It opened a can of worms going into the underlying subtexts.

A one-woman-show. A refreshing take on puberty, honest and easy to digest. WILD-HER-NESS! touches base on the topic of consent, owning your body and understanding the precious beauty of being human.

MICHELLE PHAN

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