EGG directed by Hew Parham

Review by That Guy in The Foyer, John Doherty

★★★★1/2

Presented by Erin Fowler Movement.

Ukiyo at Gluttony - Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka

March 9 – March 12.

March  14– March 19.

Previewing on International Women’s Day, Erin Fowler’s EGG is a brave, frank portrayal of a young woman dealing with attempting to balance a sense of her biological clock with a Performing Arts career. In this, Egg has broad appeal, its exploration of the deeply personal reminiscent of Andi Snellings remarkable “Happy Go Wrong” staged at the Bakehouse- how I miss that theatre- during Fringe ’21. Snellings work plumbed the depths of a very active performer living with the debilitating Lyme Disease, while Fowlers work explores a challenge arguably familiar to many more. Both won Fringe awards in 2021. At the core of EGGs narrative is the choice confronting young women to forego career, travel and reduced freedom to have a child while still biologically feasible. EGG’s strength is that Fowler doesn’t tiptoe on eggshells around this but plunges into it with great insight and humour.

Entering Ukiyo, a great little venue amidst the hubbub of Gluttony, we find an egg the height of a very small child set on a dais lit in purple. Remember Camilero, that hapless little Italian anthropomorphized cartoon black chicken who wore half his eggshell on his head? Reminded me of that and made me smile! A compare invites us into the “henhouse,” Enya’s “Orinoco Flow,” kicks in, a shift to blue light which sees Fowler enter with white glove puppets on each hand- sperm- and we’re underway! An amusing movement sequence-one confirming how remarkable a movement performer Fowler is- depicting the struggle to fertilize the egg ensues. The tone of the show is set. We accompany Fowler through growing up, her teen years and, as a young woman, wrestling with thoughts of finding a suitable partner as opposed to a “donor,” single- parenting, freezing her ovum, adopting a child, or simply foregoing the whole thing. This could all be terribly serious, couldn’t it? However, Fowler proves to be an adept clown under the direction of master-clown Hew Parham, and I couldn’t stop grinning! This humour was beautifully balanced with moments of pathos capturing the painful very real pressure time imposes on women in relation to having children, no easy feat either of them. Will Spartalis’ sound design suits the piece perfectly, shifting with ease between being on the verge of clichéd to powerfully evocative.

While the subject matter might not appeal to everyone, EGG is a great insight into a dilemma impacting half the population! Fowlers remarkable ability with movement, a face that conveys an astonish range of nuance- and I have never seen such expressive feet!- clowning, and storytelling makes this a “go see” for me!

Go on, see it!

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