Writer: Stephanie Ware
Director: Peta Lily
Stephanie Ware’s comic alter-ego Eva Von Schnippisch, charitably self-described as “Germany’s greatest cabaret artist cum double agent” has two highly regarded fringe musicals to her credit. Judging by the level of audience enthusiasm on display at the Camden Fringe, she also has something of a personal following.
Ware’s splendidly entertaining new show Whoa Mama! is, the blurb tells us, her first production “as herself”. In fact, it is a parody version of a gloriously hack thespian promising “some of the finest acting ever seen at the fringe” that is on display here. Ware’s theme, the dilemma of a child-free 40-something wondering whether she has made the right fertility choices, is as real as it comes.
Hungry for Oscars and keen to demonstrate her acting prowess, Ware pitches up on stage with a props case and an AI assistant in the form of a magic plastic sphere. The AI’s role is to “give me a genre in which to ply my trade”. First up comes Greek tragedy embodied in the form of Dionysus, god of theatre and fertility. “Theatre needs dramatic tension,” Dionysus tells us, “so I’ll cast you a dilemma, will you procreate?”.
Ware addresses the fertility question to laugh-out-loud comic effect while taking on the role of stock characters from a variety of TV and theatre genres. Anticipate period and courtroom drama, a TED talk, and a version of The Vagina Monologues delivered by an Australian-accented talking vulva (for which she presents herself “The Golden Gash award”). Ware’s more serious intent emerges when the AI demands she act out the role of a mother, something the actor simply cannot bring herself to do.
Sit at the back if you dislike audience interaction or being asked your nickname for your vagina, should you possess one. Otherwise, throw yourself headfirst into this thought-provoking and deliriously funny slice of fringe madness.
Runs until 10 August 2024
Camden Fringe runs until 25 August 2024
