Anna Leong Brophy: Born Sexy Yesterday comedy review – Fierce, feminist fun
Anna Leong Brophy's character comedy eviscerates the male gaze and pokes fun at sexist writing, but the humour undermines its feminist fuel
After waiting for a packed audience to filter in, Anna Leong Brophy emerges from a bin bag turned egg sack. It’s one way to enter the world. Over the next hour, this inconsistent sci-fi parody examines what happens when a woman realises that, from that moment, her whole purpose is to fulfil male fantasies.
The opening sees Brophy playing a newly born humanoid, immediately falling in love with an unwitting audience member, before jumping forward to mundane married life. She soon discovers that she’s a product, sending her down a rabbit hole of film-industry clichés, capitalism and the male gaze. Some familiar tropes are poked fun at along the way, from crypto to Tarantino, but Brophy is at her best when acting out the various two-dimensional female characters written by men.
She’s a confident improviser but Born Sexy Yesterday leans too heavily on audience participation. Some set pieces, such as a sexist period-drama script duologue, run too long, to the detriment of the pacing. There’s a compelling idea at play in Brophy’s show: even after her character has seemingly been set free, she’s not entirely liberated. But the humour is sometimes at odds with the message at its heart.
Anna Leong Brophy: Born Sexy Yesterday, Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 August, 5.40pm.