★★★½

Review by Tony Frame. Pleasance Courtyard – The Cellar. Aug 8-21

Heather Milsted’s solo show is a hilarious historic retelling of how women coped and dealt with their Periods throughout the ages, from ancient Egypt to Victorian Britain, no stone (or tampon) is left unturned.

Milsted doesn’t beat around the bush either; she doesn’t tread lightly on a subject matter that still (crazily) feels (I think) taboo in this day and age, nope, she goes full steam ahead, giving it one-hundred percent (and some) in describing the lengths at which women have had to go through to stop the flow of their body’s monthly cycle. She’s fast and witty (and has done exceptional historical research) and she does it with song, with dance, with some audience participation (no mean feat!), and she switches her accents and characters with great ease that it didn’t feel too fake or cheesy.

I liked the show a great deal; a lot of the situations and sketches moved at a good pace, although one scene in particular went on for a little longer than I felt was necessary.  The opening piano and song act could have also been improved upon by simply upping the microphone volume and lowering the piano’s, so that we, the audience, could clearly make out the words she was singing.

There was also a bit near the end when Milsted breaks the fourth wall, this (I felt) wasn’t really needed at all. I understand her reasoning for it; the subject matter is obviously very personal to her (and to many women, no doubt), but I think the show would have been a little stronger without this, not to mention it was slightly jarring (to an extent) as the show hadn’t really finished by that point.

These trivialities aside it was an entertaining odyssey of cabaret and comedy. The material was very good; it’s the sort of thing I would expect to see in paperback and sell very well. Heather Milsted is a gifted performer and writer who will no doubt inspire other women to write what they want, and I’m sure she’ll continue to entertain audiences for many years to come. Overall, I just didn’t love the show. But that’s just me.