Upon descending the stairs of the Aotea Centre and approaching the wee performance space of Showpony to a synthesised keyboard solo by a red ‘onesy’ clad Nisha Madhan, one could already sense that we were on a cusp of an intrepid journey into the avant garde. We were not disappointed.

A series of vignettes proceeded with two female performers (Alexa Wilson and Nisha Madhan) sending up all natures that coagulate with being, or becoming, a showpony - with an inherently feminist angle.

Though there was no solid narrative to cling to, there were performative elements that were charming enough to keep us engaged; the use of handmade cardboard cue signs to indicate when the audience should applaud, yawn, even bark among others. Charming, yes. But not enough to distract me from the fact that there were so many messages, overt and subtextual, that I wasn’t sure which to grasp.

Both attempted to get someone in the room to get naked, overtly ‘butt jiggled’ to Beyonce, and employed all methods possible to accentuate the many stereotypes of successful working women. An ‘Ellen’ type talk show scenario being one, a brief inclusion of disdain at having to cook being another. (Alison Gofton, eat your heart out.) This mish-mash of scenes highlighted well the idea that women struggle to find autonomy and a solid artistic voice within their work as creators in a society where sex sells.

If you enjoy being an active audience member and lack preciousness around being politically correct, you’ll have a ball. However, I thought the structure was a bit of a mess and the many allusions to culture, society and the female role left me a bit bombarded. Needless to say, my thoughts as a young female maker in this country were certainly titillated. It took courage to perform this piece, and with their energy and eclectic ability to call a spade a spade, these two ladies did a fine job.

By Romy Hooper

Romy graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor in Performing Arts as an actor from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. She has since directed and performed in theatre and radio, with numerous television and film credits such as Nothing Trivial, Shortland Street and Auckland International Film Festival short We Talk About Loss.