Jake Mace
Emerging artists identifying as women are showcasing their work in a week-long buffet of artistry handpicked by Edinburgh-based theatre company F-Bomb Theatre. The six pieces were shortlisted from an open call-out by the company to take over their platform as we approach this year’s International Women’s Day.
F-Bomb are aiming to offer up their platform across the period to empower women’s voices and fulfill their M.O of creating theatre “that speaks to the complex experiences of what it means to be a woman in the world today”. The selected pieces are being shown as monologues and poems on F-Bomb‘s YouTube channel and shared across social media.
The lack of a specific subject for the call-out has brought forward a great diversity of experiences which have been sharpened into short films that cross boundaries thematically. They are responding to delicate topics such as childlessness, domestic abuse and women’s safety with a sense of empowerment and artistry.
A member of the troupe, Sally Cairns, spoke to us at Binge Fringe about what platforming can provide to artists and the scene alike. She told us “Being given platform in such a male-dominated industry makes women feel heard, valued & supported.”
“The response for the call out was overwhelming and it was so touching to read such personal, thought-provoking work from women from all walks of life. By engaging with women-led theatre and artists you are giving women a voice.”
The works shown so far have been greatly diverse in tone and style. They have really put great talent at the fore. Beginning on the 1st of March, Cat Johnston’s Our Di handles the desperately raw subject of domestic abuse with rhythmic prose and a direct-to-camera delivery that takes you with initial charm into shivering viscerality.
Victoria Buse’s Me is a powerful piece best enjoyed as an auditory experience. It is succinct in it’s messaging, presenting itself as an inner monologue which exposes the anxieties caused by societal expectations on women. It is a piece about childlessness and age, combining the two into a short-but-sweet fable.
Far more conceptual and up for interpretation is What Do We Do Now? by Mirren Wilson. The visuals show us an open ocean with ships following each other along. Wilson’s words are expressive and lead you towards the theme of human relationships. There is a feeling of lostness expressed, but gratitude that being out in the open ocean at least grants you freedom.
Meeting us at the halfway mark was today’s short, Something About Alice, by Beth Mullen. Mullen is a true wordsmith – this work is instinctively deep-seated and at points pretty graphic. As an ice-breaker, Alice lets us into her psyche where she reflects on visualisation and violence. While the final shot leads us to think she is perceived as an outcast, her words are crafted well to reflect on trauma, our past selves and the barriers we put up between ourselves and others.
You can keep up to date with the exciting pieces waiting to be released over the next few days on F-Bomb’s dedicated webpage. Be sure to also subscribe to their YouTube channel and share the pieces on social media as we count down to International Women’s Day 2022!
Phoebe Bakker
