Review: MADONNA OR WHORE, The Vaults

Holly Morgan and Tom Moores tear the house down with their new comedy show, a mix of stand-up and cabaret. Madonna or Whore is a raucous and unashamedly in-your-face feminist piece of theatre.

With a range spanning from a vogueing Sigmund Freud to a superhero Lilith, they guarantee a good time to their audiences while they discuss hot topics like abortions and the state of female pubic hair.

The couple set out on a mission to smash the patriarchy, creating a crowd of Night Hags (the meaning of Lilith's name) by the end on the tunes of Madonna. Morgan introduces herself as "a diva on a budget" and uses her crystalline voice to support her boisterous and tongue-in-cheek humour.

With her fiancé, she calls to arms important women in history who've been wronged by the patriarchy: from Adam's first wife Lilith (who was replaced by Eve because she liked sex too much), to Jack the Ripper's victims (who evidently have never been as interesting as the killer himself since no one ever remembers their names).

They adapt a method of judgment by giving a Freudian twist to Ready... Set... Cook!: by making the attendees choose between Madonna (good) or Whore (bad), they point out toxic masculinity and internalised misogyny.

A substantial part in the play is dedicated to those men in the entertainment business who abuse their power. While her anger towards the issue is initially addressed with humour, it becomes powerful and personal when she tones down the show and turns it into a #MeToo moment.

That's the core of the piece, after calling out Woody Allen, Morgan sobers up and talks about her own experiences. "I regret that he made me cry. [...] I regret that I asked him politely to stop. [...] I am not weaker than him." she reflects, channelling all the women who have come forward in the past months and shining the spotlight on them through her.

The heavy reliance on audience participation becomes more than a trick to keep them captivated: by involving the crowd in simple tasks like choosing a style of waxing or letting them be her gospel choir, they involve them in their thought process.

Madonna or Whore is altogether an inventive show devised to entertain but to leave a mark most than anything else. Morgan and Moores' triumph goes beyond mere comedy.

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