The two sections of Plan V are so distinct they might as well be different scripts. The shorter one works.
In the longer, opening section of her solo show, Eleanor O’Brien takes on the persona of Mama V, a pink-track-suited proselytizer in the revolutionary Pussy Power movement of 2035. Mama V preaches that female sexual empowerment is the ultimate act of resistance to fascism.
I’m all for pussy power and I’m all for Mama V’s lessons, including “Embrace pleasure. Endure nothing.” But O’Brien hollers her way through this material, her polemic leaves little room for sustained narrative, and the video sections, in which Mama V welcomes guests (all played by O’Brien) go on too long and they’re hard to hear.
Then, belatedly, Mama V asks her protégé, Eleanor (played by O’Brien in the flesh, with a costume change), to deliver a testimonial. With nuance, detail, humour, and warmth, Eleanor shares the story of her journey from shame about her genitals to a full celebration of their ecstatic, erotic, spiritual power.
I could have done with more vulnerable, fully explored stories and a lot less of Mama V. Yes, that would be more like The Vagina Monologues, but there would be zero shame in that.
Remaining performances: September 8, 10:30; Sept 10, 7:00; Sept 11, 8:45; Sept 12, 10:30; Sept 14, 7:00. Tickets
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Boy. That was not the way we and the audience we were in felt about the show! It moved us all and we laughed til it hurt! Such wonderful skill in that performer! We felt like part of a wave of warmth!