'Bullish', from Milk
Presents, seeks to recast the myth of the Cretan Minotaur into an exploration
of gender-identity in the modern world. Four performers (Krishna Istha, Cairo
Nevitt, Lucy Jane Parkinson, and Amelia Stubberfield) portray Asterion (‘Starry
One’), the Minotaur – ‘a bull, a sort of bull, bullish’ – who is part man and
part bull, but who is also a daughter who wants to be a boy (the parallels
between the figure of classical myth and modern day discussions around gender
fluidity are clear from the start). The performers often don bull heads
throughout the performance to reiterate the ‘otherness’ of Asterion. Asterion
is trapped in a labyrinth which isn’t always a physical one – the feeling that
you do not know who you really are, when you are trapped in a different gender,
is like a labyrinth where the exit into liberation can seem to be impossible to
find. Furthermore, Asterion is aware that Theseus is coming, and Theseus is to
kill them, for ‘it is written’; another theme of the show is about the power of
words and storytelling (as one of the sparkling lines of dialogue from Lucy J.
Skilbeck’s script puts it: “Legend has more currency than gold”).
The production mixed together monologues, dialogues, and
songs. Sometimes Asterion directly addresses the audience, sometimes the
performers respond to one another’s words as Asterion’s thoughts. At other
times, Stubberfield throws on a cardigan to portray Asterion’s mother,
Pasiphae, whom Asterion has rowed with over her desire to be a boy.
Pasiphae’s monologues are often reflective and poetic, particularly in the one
where she reminisces about ‘that time’ when they were both happy on a day out
and Stubberfield brings a gentle touch to her deliver which fits the character
well. Following the row with Pasiphae, Asterion goes onto a bus to go to the doctors
to follow-up on an appointment about gender reassignment surgery. The section
on the bus saw Istha step beyond the fourth wall and into the audience, using
the steps of the auditorium as the steps onto the top deck of the bus. Other
people on the bus see the Minotaur and do not know how to react, much like the
audience members Istha sat between! Istha really came to the fore when
performing Phobos, the god of fear, who is recast as a frustrating receptionist
at a GP’s surgery, encapsulating the nightmare of bureaucracy for those
awaiting the appointment for the reassignment surgery.
Parkinson was a strong performer throughout (and had a
superb singing voice) and shone in the role of Daedalus, the inventor, decked
out in high-visibility jacket and goggles. In the original myths, Daedalus
constructed the labyrinth with the Minotaur at its centre, in 'Bullish', Daedalus constructs a special
skin for Asterion which makes her a man. Now, newly confident, and settling in
to her new skin, Asterion goes to a club to engage in their new-found freedom
and it is here that Theseus appears. Emerging from the audience, Theseus
(played with aplomb by Adam Robertson) has ‘perfectly coiffured hair’ and is as
big an Alpha-male as you can imagine, spouting humble-brag platitudes like an
Apprentice contestant, or overpaid life-coach, Theseus has arguably the best
song of the night: a disco-rock mash-up which only goes on to highlight his
‘toxic masculinity.’ Theseus wants to be the biggest man in the room and fights
Asterion. It is during this section that Nevitt drives home the vulnerability
of Asterion, who has only just been given the freedom he longed for, and who
lashes out in anger against Theseus.
As 'Bullish' heads
into its conclusion, it adds an element from the myth of Icarus (son of Daedalus),
as Asterion realises that the exit from the labyrinth is up, towards the sky.
As the performers describe Asterion’s ‘wings of wax’ starting to melt as they
soar high into the sky, Stubberfield returns as Pasiphae, having followed the
thread of Asterion’s clothes which was trapped in the door as Asterion slammed
it on the way out. In a touching finale, Pasiphae admits that she now sees
Asterion for who e wanted to be – as Stubberfield said “I see you,” a female
voice from the audience echoed the words, and then another voice did, and
another, and then a fourth echoed the phrase before four women came onto stage
and stood next to the performers – they were very obviously the mothers of the
performers and seeing them together onstage was a genuinely moving moment.
'Bullish' was an
interesting mix of the mythological and the contemporary. Its mixture of styles
helped the production move along and the performances were enjoyable. It did
seem to meander slightly in places but regained a sense of focus with the
arrival of Theseus and the poignant climax as the performers were joined onstage
by their parents. 'Bullish' is a
fascinating and ultimately moving piece of theatre.
Reviewer - Andrew Marsden
on - 29/10/18
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