Victorian painter Elizabeth Thompson is bizarrely held up as an inspiration to contemporary trans, queer and non-binary people in Ellen Brammar’s play, which has a ribald cabaret energy but hardly any depth or subtlety. It’s full of cartoonishly repetitive scenes and garishly broad drag-king performances, sporadically interrupted by short and uninspiring songs from Rachel Barnes.
In this touring production for Hull-based company Middle Child, Brammar and co-directors Luke Skilbeck and Paul Smith seem happy to shove a jumble of artistic conceits, statements on gender and sexuality, and truisms about the patriarchy on stage without actively exploring them.
