Review by Emily Smith
Quirky, energetic, and a rollercoaster of emotions, the second run of Erin Fowler’s EGG after selling out its debut season last year is now available watch online from the comfort of your own living room.
Are you watching after flicking over from Peppa Pig, having finally completed a drawn-out bedtime routine, or does your tidy living room have the easy tranquillity of a child-free household? And which would you prefer? Erin explores this dilemma over an hour of contemporary dance, insemination jokes, and a cheeky 80s soundtrack.
Erin introduces her life story leading up to her current baby or no-baby problem, but most of the show’s action is conveyed through her crudely funny physical acting and achingly relevant pop lyrics. Accompanied by a variety of increasingly suggestive props, of course. The ran-out-of-eggs-while-baking analogy is a classic, both funny and mournful, and the Baby Born doll that endures a forceps delivery is cleverly portrayed through lighting effects, but the star of the show has to be the titular egg costume. Bouncing, bulbous, and brought about by Egg Puppet Fabrication Specialist Matthew Plummer, every time it comes on stage we know we are going to be treated to a ridiculously saucy dance routine, and Erin is clearly having as much fun prancing around in it as we are watching. She banters well with the audience and knows how to use her highly expressive face to her advantage.
EGG runs through the highs and lows of the fertility journey, bouncing from zany comedy to confusion and despair, made all the more poignant by the abrupt transition. The live audience on the day of filming clearly related strongly to her story and I found myself transported from my lounge to the sticky bar stool beside them, in my sympathy for her dilemma.
Erin injects humour into what is a real and increasingly prevalent burden on women, focusing less on societal and familial pressure, of which there is plenty out there, and more on personal pressure. She explores her own desires to be a mother, whether single or not, and examines whether the cons of parenthood are worth resigning herself to, especially when they include putting her artistic career on hold, possibly forever. As she quips, “six businesses and a baby, how hard can that be?” It is nice to see someone else facing the questions and pressures we all encounter, without a neatly baby-shaped resolution.
Even those not facing the parenthood problem can surely relate to her dreams of an illustrious career in Edinburgh and a handsome Scottish husband being dashed by Covid. In a time where everyone has had to rethink their plans and priorities, we can at least all enjoy a giant egg dancing an Irish jig.
Erin’s show is raucously funny throughout, although my highlight has to be the pregnancy scare demonstrated by a dance to ‘It’s Raining Men’ and a ripped raincoat.
EGG is not just for those who relate to Erin’s big life decision problem, it is also for anyone who loves a giggle and a banging soundtrack, and wants to see an egg dance.
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