The evening at TOM was kicked off with punk performance poet Bessie Gracie. Known for her musical musings, feel-good feminism and general silliness. She gave us commentry on poetry, the power of words and people. Her discussion on empathy, social media and the perils of answering back offensive posts therein was both hysterical and thought provoking. Her love of living on our island was charming despite the Farage effect that threatens to tempt her to leave.
Ultimately she celebrated the power of the clever women who don’t speak up because they’re thinking of what to say. Gracie calls out for them to be loud, be wonderful and say what they think. Rather as she, herself, does beautifully.
Monster is show for anyone who has been afraid to dip their toe in or felt all at sea. A true story about feeling exposed in the ocean and learning to love both people and pond life.
From the second Naomi Wood crawls on stage, emerging from the deep, it is delicious fun and thought provoking. Plotting her passage through life she explores her fear of being seen, exposed as well as the sea. However she brilliantly uses fish analogies and comparisons throughout.
Her experience with religion makes her feel constantly watched whilst being “a good girl” who is haunted by being ‘found out’ having orgasms. Hence she develops OCD in an attempt to chase away the fear.
She analyses her feeling of being different and how she revels in being extremely different, a ‘party animal’ extraordinaire ripping the night apart then awaking the following morning regretting what may have happened along with her hangover.
The ‘ghost’ that she felt she was at thirteen, in part to avoid her drunken father’s loudness, is eaten by her nightly reverie. Her description of visiting her dying father and the mixed emotions is heartbreaking as is her resulting depression.
She emerges with greater understanding of herself, the value of quiet introspection and nature as well an ability to get up on stage and share the journey, barefoot, with her audience.
Life’s an improv group explains the woman who told me she was an introvert when I interviewed her a couple of weeks ago. She read me her poem about voice notes that day which she delivered tonight also and I loved it even more hearing it again.
There are wolves within us, both good and bad, and we are what we are most afraid of. Monsters thrive in darkness but we can just turn on the light. This is the illumination which she portrays on stage; but that of her own psyche.
The Old Market should also be applauded for the support of this amazing artist throughout her development.
The show is a remarkable achievement and if you get the chance to see it then do so, knocking others aside if needed, to get a ticket. If Monster doesn’t win awards across the board then we should all assemble, up in arms, to ask why.
Venue: The Old Market, 11a Upper Market Street, Hove, BN3 1AS
