The Bunker – until 26 May
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
3***
Rigby’s misadventures on the London lesbian scene, or the desert, as she witheringly describes it, are hilariously depressing. Writer Izzy Tennyson plays Rigby full of ticks that are both endearing and irritating and slowly reveals the reasons for the main characters’ idiosyncrasies.
Rigby narrates and sets the scene, interrupting the action with bitingly honest comments that she can’t voice to the women around her. Finding it easier to be with older women, Rigby’s relationship with Toad (Rebekah Hinds), slightly overweight, lover of lesbian bingo and devoted to her cat, ends and Rigby starts seeing Toad’s ex-fiancée, Witch (Grace Chiltern), a tattoo artist who gets turned on by her lovers’ shame. When Rigby realises who Witch is, she doesn’t stop seeing her, even though she knows the situation is “grotty”.
Tennyson’s clever writing sees Rigby verbally attacking lesbian tribalism and the pecking order in the gay scene, as the lesbians gather in a cellar listening to the pounding music of the “gay boys” above. Lots of serious points are made in scattershot style as Rigby tries to explain herself. The story gets darker, and the laughs sparser as we discover more about Witch and Rigby. Rigby’s recollections of a psych review doctor (Anita-Joy Uwajeh) branding her as “suicidal, but not suicidal enough”, followed by the late introduction of Rigby’s sick mother (Clare Gollop) explain more about Rigby’s needs in an almost silent scene than the last hour of her constant talking. Seemingly throwaway lines that could easily have been missed in Tennyson’s initial rapid-fire delivery are revisited, making the glimmer of hope for a healthy future and relationship as the lights fade more meaningful.
Director Hannah Hauer-King keeps the movement fluid and makes the most of the available space, stopping this wordy play from becoming stale, and the talented cast, led by the astonishing Tennyson, perform with total commitment. There are a few moments that lose energy, but overall, Grotty is a sharp, funny, slightly disturbing play that audiences of any gender or sexuality will enjoy.