Playhouse Theatre, Sheffield – 29 January 2025
Reviewed by Sharon Farley
4****
It has to be recognised that one must be very brave to perform solo to an audience for an hour, throw in flirting with the audience, ‘porn dancing’, and cavorting with a blow-up doll, and the effort is almost heroic. Aided only by a few simple props, this is exactly what Eleanor May Blackburn quite selflessly does in her one woman show, Does My F***y Look Big In This?, whilst also provoking more than a few laughs and revealing some personal trauma.
The sexual trauma element here isn’t so much harrowing as widely relatable, focused on how the absence of a ‘no’ does not equate to an enthusiastic ‘yes’. This is the subliminal story line, interspersed and alleviated by the enactment of a sex education class for 30 school kids, where any and all questions are answered purely matter-of-factly by ‘Miss Blackburn’, with occasional hilarious embellishment. Who knows? You might even pick up some new sexual vocabulary yourself!
Within the dual story line, a broad array of familiar sexual topics arise: sex education, basic anatomy, sexual anxiety, masturbation, misogyny, personal hygiene, sexuality, consent, and pubic styling. The overarching theme being explored is that we all go through the same uncertainties and self-conscious fumblings at the beginning of our sex lives, so why aren’t we discussing our very real sexual anxieties more openly? By breaking down the two themes of sex education and sexual trauma, Eleanor demonstrates how tight-lipped attitudes continue to lead to wide-scale unwanted and unpleasant sexual encounters. We are left asking ourselves, how far have we really come if generation after generation people are still having to deal with so much confusion and trauma because of the very thing that led to each of us existing at all? Also, are we already condemning the young to turn to online pornography to answer the questions we fail to confront? If so, how is this being reflected in their real life sexual development?
The naked honesty of Eleanor’s performance makes her instantly warm, open, and approachable. The themes are so recognisable that the audience can easily identify their own experience in this piece, enabling them to feel they are safe and among friends. With the addition of a frank and open discussion following the performance, this breaking down of barriers comes in useful when the audience has the opportunity to play the part of the school kids by bringing up any and all comments, questions, and thoughts they might have about sex. You may not necessarily get an answer, but that is much less important here than gaining permission to freely and openly express the questions we might normally be too afraid to ask.
Since bringing this performance to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023, Eleanor has further developed the narrative and continues to appear around the UK. Watch out for her in a theatre near you.