Vulvarine at Kings Head Theatre

There is a new superhero on the block and finally she is female!! Vulvarine is a musical which tells of Bryony Buckle, an average office worker who lives in High Wycombe. She spends her days lusting after her colleague Orson Bloom and talking to her cat, Elton. However after a trip to the GP for her cough which resulted in a dose of hormone therapy and a lightning strike, delivers new found superhero abilities. She uses these abilities to unearth the misuse of the tampon tax and fight against the Mansplainer.

My favourite thing about the show was the writing by Robyn Grant and Daniel Fox. The script was witty and there were jokes poking fun of everything from manspreading to mansplaining. Vulvarine never takes itself too seriously and as a result you never felt like you were being lectured on feminism! Despite the clear feminism message as well it was never cruel or anti-male and could be enjoyed equally by both sexes.
The songs were varied with some strong comedy numbers in there such as ‘Licking My Anus’ as well as romantic love songs such as ‘The Office Boy and Vulvarine.’ There were also a couple of recurring musical motifs throughout Vulvarine which helped tie the show together.

I also enjoyed the gender blind casting, with Sonya, the villain Mansplainer’s wife, being played by Steffan Rizzi and Mansplainer himself played by Robyn Grant.
The cast of 5 were all talented and often I found it hard to believe that were only 5 of them with the amount of roles they took on. I particularly enjoyed Allie Munro’s contrast from meek Bryony Buckle to sassy Vulvarine. Vulvarine was always delivered with a twinkle in the eye and a superhero stance. Robyn Grant as not only the Mansplainer but Elton the cat as well gave great comedy turns as well as showcasing a great voice.
The set was clever with folding panels that took it from an office to a science lab in moments. It meant no long scene changes and helped this fast pace show keep the momentum and craziness going. It did have a strong fringe feel to it with momentary wobbles but this for this show it just added to the zany vibe.
Overall this is a fun show, with a strong message that is told with enough craziness to stop it from feeling like a lecture but enough to feel jolly fed up of the way women can be treated!
If you like this review you might also like my review of Six, Hot Gay Time Machine and Denim – The Reunion Tour.
Vulvarine is on at the Kings Head Theatre until 6th July at 8:30pm. To find out more about Vulvarie and to catch it elsewhere in the country visit its website.