“Who’s the real bitch now?”
Reviewer: Lee Min Jie
Performance: 21 January 2016
BITCH: The Origin of the Female Species is a simple story revolving around a dog whose master suffers a stroke after losing his wife to dementia.
The problem is – things are never that simple.
Edith Podesta has the enviable ability to complicate seemingly simple scenarios and pile on layers of meaning.
I remember being drawn to the title and all its associations. As the show progresses, I quickly realise that Podesta has actively interrogated the definition of the word “bitch”.
First she brings it back to its origins – a female dog – making me feel ashamed for thinking the play is about the now common use of the term.
Then she performs the canine, enthralling me with the way she arches her neck, shapes her fingers into paws and sniffing around as if her nose was a dog’s snout. Then, she starts talking. If dogs truly think the way she thinks they do, I assure you the human race is not the superior race.
Multimedia inserts are creatively integrated into this play making it a visual spectacle. The lights from an open door (the result of a forgetful master) signals the passing of day. The animation serving as a backdrop to the literal blurring of characters when Podesta assumes the role of the dog. The well-timed sounds of chaos, and rain and wind, reflect the inner turmoil and nature respectively.
But it is the projection of a futuristic-looking cosmos onto the set that took my breath away. The darkness melts the set and the audience into one. The space whisks us off wordlessly on a journey with Podesta into the mind of her master who suffers from aphasia.
As if on cue to offer a respite, a surprise actor makes an entrance much to the delight of audiences. Keeping in line with Podesta’s point about language, this actor communicates without speaking a single word.
Catch this play to be schooled on how words, or the lack of, can play an important role in your relationships.
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ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
BITCH: THE ORIGIN OF THE FEMALE SPECIES by Edith Podesta
21 – 23 January 2016
Esplanade Recital Studio
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Lee Min Jie is a third-year Theatre Studies major at the National University of Singapore who is drawn to Theatre’s ability to immerse one in a world carefully conjured up by artists.
