Edinburgh Fringe 2015
Morro and Jasp Do Puberty
U.N.I.T. Productions
Genre: Clown, Comedy, Contemporary, Interactive, International
Venue: Gilded Balloon
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A hilarious look at the best period of your life. Clown sisters Morro and Jasp are at that age where the hormones are always flaring, the telephone keeps ringing, and the punk rock can never be too loud. As Morro attempts to hide from feminine hygiene products, Jasp longs for womanhood and the boy of her dreams. This smash hit explores the trials and tribulations of growing up.
Review
OK, I’ll admit it. I was curious…but totally trepidacious. It’s at times like this when a guy’s irrational fears may begin to gnaw at them. If I’m in the audience, are they going to make fun of me? Am I going to have to know about, you know, periods and stuff? Are they going to try and give me a makeover? What if they ask me about girls?
This show is unashamedly about the trials and tribulations of puberty. Teen angst, growing up, coming of age, and becoming an adult, or almost one. “A hilarious look at the best period of your life” – if you’re a girl, of course. Well that’s what the programme says. Actually, I’d disagree with that. Most of the audience were, on this occasion anyway, men – and we had a brilliant time of it.
Morro and Jasp took us on a fun-filled yet unflinching, adrenaline-fuelled rollercoaster through their teenage years stopping off along the way to check in at teencrushville, personaljournaltown, and makeoverburg as they helped to de-mystify and decode the teenage experience. This was by no means though a girls-only affair and both ladies did a fantastic job of putting the men into menstruation, which is no mean feat. Throughout this anarchic yet endearing look at life we are treated to one-on-one chats with the two teenage sisters as they break the fourth wall to let us in on their darkest and deepest desires and dilemmas. We feel almost like an adjunct agony-uncle or aunt and can’t help but smile when the girls eventually succeed in their dreams.
This show is deceptive though. It’s not just a fun romp with two quirky clowns navigating the pitfalls of puberty. There’s a lot more going on here than may first meet the eye. If you delve beneath the surface a little you’ll find an important message of inclusion and education, of acceptance and celebration. Subjects like these can sometimes be seen as embarrassing or dirty, taboo to talk about, and definitely not for polite conversation. It’s important that we allow our children and young people to feel open and unashamed to broach these subjects, and it’s just as important that as adults we understand and appreciate these exact same things.
There is nothing immensely highbrow here but it’s a wonderfully entertaining and uplifting evening. A peak behind the crimson curtains of two regular girls who just want to have fun, be loved, and figure out how the holy b*lls tampons work. Be prepared for belly laughs and boob talk, magical makeovers, and delightful discoveries. Morro and Jasp do puberty, yes, but there’s way more bang in their buck than you may be expecting.
