BRIGHTON FESTIVAL: Philosophy of the World – Brighton Dome Studio Theatre

Written and performed by: In Bed With My Brother

The story of revered proto punk outsiders The Shaggs is well known. Their controlling father forced them into becoming a band after having it foretold by a palm reader, despite their lack of aptitude for their instruments and knowledge of the wider world of music. Envelope-pushing theatre company In Bed With My Brother dig under the surface of this story to consider the impact this lifestyle would have had on the three sisters and how the death of their father must have affected them. It’s a self-conscious barrage of a show full of flashing lights, loud noises, pepsi-swigging and violence that communicates its message through shock and confrontation.

From the beginning the performers are at one remove from their story. The three women wearing long shaggy wigs look up at the captions flashing on the back of the stage detailing their story. We’re in a post-modern theatrical landscape where the characters reflect upon the story they are part of, swept along with it just like the audience. They mime some of The Shaggs’ songs, mirroring how the girls themselves were so used to playing roles.

The captions that outline the story are punctuated with loud gunshots and flashes of light that seem slightly on the obnoxious side. They do calisthenics every day, we’re told, and when they do it’s to the accompaniment of pounding gabber for some reason, and it feels like we’re being pulverised with sound just to keep our attention.

The other character onstage is Neil the stage manager. He handles the props and orchestrates the hostile crowd reaction to The Shaggs’ early shows. As the story unfolds, Neil comes to represent the male figures in the lives of the members of the band as well as the members of the theatre company. He plays the role of the father as he dies of a heart attack, setting the sisters free from their life of musical imprisonment. “FREE WILL” flashes across the stage and The Shaggs set about figuring out what to do with this new-found freedom.

Their story represents a more general feminist struggle for autonomy. The three women onstage realise that they too are trapped under the tyranny of Neil the stage manager and maybe they’re better off without him. But it’s not quite that simple. Without Neil they feel his loss, wear his sweaty t-shirts with affection. In amongst all the bombast there’s a nuanced take about how conflicting it is to try and escape the male influence.

The punk attitude in their approach to storytelling is often truly compelling and the climax is a sustained wash of sensation akin to a noise gig of stream of consciousness content. In Bed With My Brother have broken the traditional narrative theatrical structure just like The Shaggs unwittingly rewrote the rules of music.

Reviewed on 11 May 2026