Ash Strain
“We are here to empower you with the knowledge that should have been yours all along. Your period is not a messy intrusion. Not an inconvenience to disregard. It is amazing. It is magical! It is golden. That’s a metaphor.”
What day of your period are you on? If you’re someone who menstruates and you just clutched your pearls in scandalised shock, perhaps you need to book an appointment with the Gynae Guru. Go With the Flow is a musical odyssey through your menstrual cycle, complete with hormones, harmonies, and Weird Al-level lyrical adjustments to some of your favourite tunes, from Charli XCX to the Weather Girls.
The show’s format is straightforward but effective – the Gynae Guru (played warmly and with confidence by the show’s writer Anna Toogood) is here to guide you through the elating highs and devastating lows of your menstrual cycle alongside her Cycle Sisters, consisting of the effervescent Estrogen (Martyna Wrobel) and the merciless Progesterone (Cate Brooks) – and Toogood puts her audience at ease, warmly wise like some kind of cool older sister/fairy godmother hybrid.
Toogood’s charisma and stage presence are as fantastic as her voice, which blends beautifully with those of Wrobel and Brooks. The lyric changes she makes are funny and clever, most notably in her interpretation of Leona Lewis’ Bleeding Love. The show mirrors fantastically all those messy up-and-down emotions one might face on their menstrual cycle, from the alluring confidence of the follicular phase to the apocalyptic doom that comes with PMS. Brooks and Wrobel, as well as embodying their respective hormones well, are incredibly talented singers, and both tackled complicated riffs and intricate harmonies with ease.
Kudos must also be given to the musical stylings of Noah Pott, whose self-arranged accompaniments transitioned seamlessly between musical numbers and in-between underscoring, as well as Christiana Maycea’s tech, which transformed the intimate performance space into an ambient dreamscape. These roles were clearly crucial in creating the world of the show, and served to amplify the already very strong performances of Toogood, Wrobel, and Brooks.
The show takes a little bit of time to find its stride, with the opening song being one of the less memorable musical numbers in the show, but once it does it never loses it, and offered a great combination between entertainment and education (I certainly came away having learned something new). It was also refreshing to see a performance which focuses so much on biology remaining inclusive and intersectional in its terminology – careful and deliberate consideration has been taken to include anyone who menstruates, but you never get the impression Toogood believes this to be anything other than the obvious and only choice – of course this includes trans audience members, the show seems to say. We all bleed the same, don’t we?
It is this sense of inclusivity, of togetherness, which will stick with you long after the show has ended – Go With the Flow reminds us that none of us are in this alone, and equips us with the tools to go on our own Gynae Guru journey with a little help from our friends (both human and hormonal).
Recommended drink: A massive cup of tea with as many chocolate biscuits as you want – menstruating is hard, you’ve earned it.
Go With the Flow is partnered with ENDO1000, a UK-wide health data research project conducted by the University of Edinburgh which will collect data from 1000 individuals with known or suspected endometriosis in order to conduct much needed research into the development or personalised care for the 1 in 10 people suffering with the condition. For further information you can follow @endo1000project on Instagram. You can also donate to the project at www.endo1000.com.
You can catch Go With the Flow at ZOO Playground 3 until the 24th August, every night at 19:40. Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Lamesha Ruddock
Phoebe Bakker
