The Hamilton Fringe Theatre Review: Sex Goddess + Horseface
By Ross
Two solo shows hit hard and true at the Hamilton Fringe when I was there last weekend, inviting us all into their individual strong perspectives and stances, while lifting us up and breaking our hearts systematically. They take us on a Greek Odyssey, of sorts, through a patriarchal world, where gender-based power is off balance and a woman’s autonomy falters under the male gaze. The two dynamic souls that stand center stage in both Sex Goddess and Horseface deliver the goods heroically, demanding safety and respect under their own powerful terms, from gloriously unique angles that differ but hold true to the anthem and the song.
In the deliciously engaging solo show produced by House + Body, Sex Goddess invites us generously into her safe “Big Time” space. It’s a forceful unveiling with captivating revelations gifted to those who have the “vibe“. Standing proudly center stage, pop star Rayna envelops us with her fabulously well-defined energy, while coaxing us to stay tuned in to her just-released new album, “Sex Goddess.” It’s a listening release party, glistening with electric energy musically produced by Ghostboyrj that can’t be denied, and as directed with a sly focus by dramaturg Christopher Manousos (House + Body/Crow’s Measure for Measure), Sex Goddess embodies its truth at the highest dynamic order, giving us a dreamy, courageously constructed journey presented to heightened perfection. It’s a near-epic Greek tale that never falters, both in its ability to hold us firmly in her outstretched hands and its determination to lift us up to a higher level of understanding.
“I don’t hate, I appreciate“, she tells us, so while presenting and unwrapping the contents of her vibrant music and album, Rayna, as performed magnetically by creator/playwright Riel Reddick-Stevens (Neptune’s The Play That Goes Wrong), hypnotically pulls us through the wildest night of her life. Using cascades of Hip Hop/R&B music, comedy, and emotionally honest storytelling, Rayna walks us tightly through a journey that altered her life in ways both unexpected and uplifting. It begins in one framing that feels most uncomfortable, but quickly shifts her gears to high and mighty, mainly because of some loving guidance and reframing that works its magic on us in more ways than one.
And as quick as you can say, “pop goes the ego“, the star-making camaraderie that both saves and enlightens her is dynamically received, giving her a strong, new perspective that catapults this glittery star into exactly the right kind of vibe and frequency. Sex Goddess, while enlisting us in a resonating crusade of music and love, prompts us to explore the complex relationship between power, bodily autonomy, and the art of composing a powerful and authentic sense of self. We happily hang out with this obvious Sex Goddess in the grimy, gorgeous club, listening to stellar music and songs that elevate Reddick-Stevens up into the heavens like the “Big Time” star she truly is.
Sex Goddess is one wild and wonderful ride to an unforgettable, realized redefinement of self-awareness, just like the extremely engaging Horseface, the solo show that packs a solid punch and kick to the balls by Alex Dallas Productions. Written and performed by the fantastically clever and funny Alex Dallas (Soup Can/Three Ships Collective’s A Christmas Carol), this veteran English comedian unpacks a sharply pointed solo show that digs into so many problematic formulations with such clarity, “from manspreading to #MeToo,” that we can hardly catch our breath from laughing hard while feeling the pain and injustice of it all.
Directed with deliberate intent by Clare Barry, Horseface circles the house like the teachers and neighbourhood wolves that grab and pant at the women and girls of the world with their endless handsy sexual abuse vibe forced forever upon them, and more specifically, at least in this hilarious and powerful show, on the completely captivating and talented Dallas. It’s by far one of the most powerfully crafted examinations of what it means to be female in this horrifically aggressive male-dominated world, made up of, but not limited to, pornography-cataloguing fathers and aggressively grabby professors, man-spainers and man-spreaders, so emotionally charged that it’s impossible not to be moved to tears by the connecting pain and hurt, all the while laughing authentically.
Horseface is ferociously funny and heartbreaking, while also drawing agency and resilience in as we witness Dallas standing up to the “too many penises” that were forced upon her, making her feel like a free finger-food appetizer at a Labor party. I can’t describe how much it moved through me emotionally, with Dallas so expertly taking me on another emotional odyssey from complicated engagement to enlightenment (and tears). It’s delivered with that deliberate dry British wit that holds more power in her pinky than any man and his whole dangly bits. Treated like prey in a world full of wolves, I, a similarly pissed-off gay man, say, ‘yes, I completely agree.‘ It would feel so really, really good to kick certain brothers in the balls, as I watched, in utter amazement, as both these two powerhouses unpack trauma and revitalization in their dynamic solo shows; Sex Goddess and Horseface.
