One Woman Show

Traditionally a one woman show evokes shades of strident, confronting second wave feminists bemoaning the oppressive nature of patriarchy. Such shows seemed determined to inflict pain on the audience. This show could not be further away from this or any postfeminist stereotype that emerged with the likes of The Diary of Bridget Jones or Fleabag and yet it has a strong feminist message. Liz Kingsman dismantles all of these stereotypes with a deconstruction of theatrics and women characters who have traded on social and political disorientation.

Kingsman especially targets the trope of the confused young woman navigating life in a big city and negotiating overwhelming and often conflicting messaging. Her persona is endearing but not because of her muddled psychological state or her comical social ineptness. Instead, Kingsman’s comedy is sardonic and at times even brutally honest. The self-deprecating strategy as a way of creating appeal is completely turned on its head and it is almost as if Kingsman is trying to give women a wakeup call.

The very surreal and absurd thread of the show gives great insight into Kingsman’s sharp and highly imaginative brand of humour. This is presented in a very polished show with amazing lighting and sound effects that accentuate many of the points she makes or the personas she depicts. The staging is clever, often visually arresting, and full of its own comic gestures. The artifice of the stage is continually exposed and then exploited, as is the fashionable image of female helplessness. This is just one among many of the great strengths of this impressive show.  

Kingsman is originally from Sydney but has adopted London as her home. Her British accent evokes the naivety and obliviousness to politics of the characters she emulates but the directness of her writing and her wry, hard-hitting satire are one hundred percent Australian.

Patricia Di Risio 

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Photographer: Dylan Woodley