Bodyhoods @ The Arches

If pedagogy is a vital root of the theatrical rhizome, then...

Sorry. I'll start that again.

If one of theatre's functions is to teach an audience, then Bodyhoods is a dynamic example of the form. Bel Jessica Pye attacks the easy identification of disability, repeatedly challenging the audience to spot her disability and recalling incidents in which disability is denied. A sneaky joke about the enthusiasm of the government to get people back to work aside, Bodyhoods homes in on the personal politics of disability, throwing in references to the gay ballroom scene, notions of authenticity and, since this is Live Art, some signifying nudity.

Pye never reveals her disability, but constantly questions notions of how disability is understood. Her 'realness' catwalk competitions takes its cues from the ballroom scene's obsession with 'passing' as straight: in a month when a major motion picture has an actor 'cripping up' to play physics brainiac Stephen Hawkings, her 'crip realness' cakewalk has a harsh, witty resonance. Throughout her performance, Pye presents the challenges of disability: not those caused by any physical problems, but by social stigma and prejudice.

With strong dramaturgical support, Bodyhoods could become a meditation on society's problems with the 'differently abled' that entertains, provokes and educates: there's an intelligent sensitivity and a dry humour that lifts the work beyond autobiographical musing or indulgent rhetoric. It challenges without compromise and balances personal passion and social critique in equal measures.