Writers: Savannah Beckford and Lucy Eve Mann
When a sexy rendezvous turns murderous, two best friends devise a scheme to destroy the patriarchy one incel at a time, and the results are bloody. F*ck Toys is a Camden Fringe’s feminist stand-up/drama combination with exciting results and some disappointments.
Savannah Beckford’s excellent stand-up routine opens the show and covers all the classics: particulars of being an American emigree to London, the less spoken about biphobia that comes with a Lesbian to Bisexual transition, strange chat-up requests from men in bars. But unusually, this stand-up bit ends in murder.
It’s this blend of genres, and of reality and fiction, that gives F*ck Toys its unique edge. Beckford and co-creator Lucy Eve Mann tell a story of two co-dependent besties on a mission to rid the world of misogynistic men. Empowered by their sexuality, they allow their victims within reach of pleasure, before literally sucking out blood; ‘feeds’ they call them. Mann’s character is turning their noble efforts into data to include in an application to Yale, and Beckford gets to practice stand-up in between murders; it’s a solid set-up. The nonchalant violence and some excellent punchlines, particularly from Beckford, give F*ck Toys a compelling energy.
The queer feminist throughlines are powerfully felt, and rightly so. It’s a sadly familiar tale: the doomed fate of women to forever be subjected to the label of virgins or whores, demonized for sexuality, motherhood being a woman’s sole purpose, and compulsory heterosexuality, to name a few. The pair manages to capture some of the rage at life’s infuriating contradictions. It’s an interesting rumination on the pressure to take action under patriarchy, and the effort it takes to just survive in it.
They’re important points, well said at times, but unfortunately, often the production feels laboured and, at times, veers into cliché. The audience is left craving a more solid narrative line to cling to amongst the didacticism, especially as the plot concept is so intriguing. Narrative jumps result in confusion and there are a few too many loose ends for a satisfying conclusion.
Hinting at a breakdown between the two performers’ friendship, for example, is rendered meaningless to the audience as we do not see enough of their relationship to begin with. Instead, there is more time spent on spelling out the feminist issue at hand, which is clear and sometimes powerful, but less engaging when it’s simply served on a platter this way.
It’s a shame, given the clear passion from the performers and the show’s genuine laughs and moving moments. A solid narrative line and a more show-not-tell approach would make these points more cohesive in the production, and the jumps between scenes less jarring.
In short, it’s a creative and subversive feminist foray from F*ck Toys, one that’ll get you thinking and laughing.
Runs until 25 August 2024
Camden Fringe runs until 25 August 2024
The Reviews Hub Score
Will get you thinking and laughing
