EDINBURGH 2023: STARK BOLLOCK NAKED Q&A

BWW catches up with Larisa Faber to chat about bringing Stark Bollock Naked to the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Stark Bollock Naked.

A cross between surreal comedy and multimedia performance about reproductive shelf life, with a very personal core. I wrote stark bollock naked as a response to an intense (internalised?) pressure to conceive: Was I a selfish bitch if I'd let my eggs wither away? Why was the biological clock's ticking suddenly so overwhelming? The show tackles these pressures, fears and longings head-on: A naked body, taped up and used as a projection screen for video mapping. A dash of humour, a spot of silliness as a big up yours, biological clock. A live score of gyno instruments (we play the speculum & other delights). A candid discussion about abortion. And then there's a musical number involving a brain and many egg recipes. Game ovaries?

Why do you think it is an important story to tell?

The pressure to conceive or simply navigating the parenthood question is something many people in my generation started to feel, once we'd hit 30. Mantras like "women can have it all" started to sound hollow. All what? How? I think it's a very relatable show about an experience quite keenly felt. Beyond that, the show deals very frankly with abortion. Ultimately, it's a show about bodily agency and that's unfortunately quite timely. 

How has the show been received so far?

To be honest, it's been a relief that the show has connected with audiences really well, that the humour has landed. We've sold out shows in London and Luxembourg, it was reprogrammed this year, got an award nomination at VAULT Festival and it's now part of the first ever official Luxembourgish selection! It all started with a little WIP at Camden People's Theatre in 2019, and here we are, 4 years later, pubes out and proud. That said, safeguarding is really important: I use nudity as a storytelling tool to reclaim my body, not for gawking purposes. If that's your bag, this show is not it. 

Who would you like to come and see it?
Anyone with (ageing) ovaries. Lovers of the weird. Aficionados of the surreal. Did I mention that we play the SPECULUM? If you've ever had that medieval metal duck shoved up your vag, stark bollock naked is the perfect antidote. 

What message would you like audiences to take away from it?

That we can do whatever we damn well please with our eggs. That there's nothing shameful about bodies. (And that there's such a thing as a sexy hand sanitizer costume out there.) 

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