PANDORA’S BAG. Written and performed by Joanna Weinberg. Baxter.
KAREN RUTTER reviews
Wow, Joanna Weinberg! What a smart, sassy and sussed show! And an upbeat reminder that while marching, memes and MeToo hashtags are all necessary, feminism can also be fun. And funny. And no, that’s not an oxymoron.
Weinberg’s 90-minute solo show is ostensibly all about handbags. Not the most radical of topics, one would think – but in the mischievous hands of this musician/performer the humble holdall becomes a symbol, a slice of history, an inspiration.
Using her own mother’s handbag as a catalyst for her cabaret/comic spot, Weinberg explains how this most common of women’s accessories is actually loaded with meaning. Moving from nudge-nudge-wink-wink double entendre to suburban sadness to wicked joyfulness, Weinberg throws aging, corporate caricatures and even STDs into her songs, each one using some kind of bag – or person holding the bag – as a theme.
Weinberg segues smoothly between a stand-up role as story-teller and a sit-down part as story-singer, demonstrating her high-end skill at both. And making it look so easy, particularly her parts at the piano. Which anybody who has tried to sing and play an instrument at the same can tell you, is really not that simple. Both her song lyrics and her stage script are clever and concise, never wasting a beat or a breath but getting to the point each time, whether it be a jaunty ode to to the dashing Doctor D or the strangely haunting Laundry Bag, which reminded me of Jennifer Ferguson’s Bay of Bombay.
Ultimately, the show punches a feisty fist in the air to womyn power. It celebrates sneaky grandmothers and sagging breasts, it acknowledges the online addict within, and the party gal without. Pandora’s Bag is a winner of a show, and Joanna Weinberg is a prizewinner of a performer.
Go and see this before it ends, and Joanna sets back to Sydney where she now lives (their gain, our loss). It’ll be 90 minutes you will never regret, we promise.
What: Pandora’s Bag
Where and when: Baxter Golden Arrow Studio from 23 October to 3 November 2018 at 8.15pm nightly
Pandora’s Bag tickets: Webtickets
WS
