Review: THE VAGINA DIALOGUES, Waterloo East Theatre

"Hi, welcome to the feminist" The Völvas say before embarking in an irreverent and unabashedly in-your-face rollercoaster of a piece.

From coping with an unexpected pregnancy, female org*sm, office boredom, and the jarring experience of sexual assault, the five women brilliantly succeed in their goal to have audiences listening.

Braless and wearing matching red dresses with white petticoats, MJ Ashton, Sian Brett, Grace Hudson, Nancy Ofori Geywu & Jazmin Qunta set off to smash the patriarchy with humour and sneers in The Vagina Dialogues. They dance topless and sing of weird, drunken dates where "lips are so soft I've never loved the taste of beer so much".

But the provocative and engrossing show almost comes to a halt when Ashton and Hudson, eyes closed, drowning in cold blue lights and speaking angrily into microphones recount their assaults.

"I didn't say no", "Is this what it's like to be liked?" they ask. Their disquieting and finely tuned prose turns blood cold in the room and the vibe of the moment shifts upside-down.

The Völvas could have made this the core of the piece or could have relied on it for shock value, but they manage to keep it in line with the other lighter storylines and comical songs.

Fundamentally, it's a celebration of womanhood that doesn't hold back from making a statement. The sentiment of sisterhood permeates the act from start to finish and their brash and anything-but-low-key approach is refreshing and humorous.

The Völvas triumph with The Vagina Dialogues, and start a serious conversation pointing the spotlight on toxic masculinity and how ridiculous the patriarchy essentially is.

The Vagina Dialogues runs at Waterloo East Theatre as part of Vault Festival until 18 February.

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