Causing mayhem onstage rather than on the seven seas, Tit Swingers is a show that recounts the tale of the pirate queens Mary Read (Abey Bradbury) and Anne Bonney (Sam Kearney-Edwardes), an experience of potent anarchism where the Hellcats raise absolutely hell.
An experience of potent anarchism where
Biographical in nature, we’re taken through history and legend into the lives of Read and Bonney. Between the highly dense rock anthems, we’re given a glimpse into how the pair became pirates and the hot girl pirate sh*t that they got up to. This show is less of a musical and more of a gig as Read and Bonney spin their tales and sing their shanties, recognition of their exploits that is far too belated. There’s a narrative told through the banter between Bradbury and Kearney-Edwardes, but the entire set-up puts the focus on the songs.
Through its celebration of these women, Tit Swingers becomes a protest against the status quo, prevalent in every aspect. There’s a constant defiance and anger that is a strong undercurrent throughout the entire show, but the energy that it creates quickly evaporates beyond the fourth wall. As foot-stompingly catchy as the songs are, we don’t get particularly fired up by them, which could be attributed to a number of things. The volume of the instruments is the main issue, as they drown out Bradbury and Kearney-Edwardes’ voices so that we lose a lot of the lyrics and context, and we lose a lot of the story and the show becomes just loud rather than showcasing any of the lyrical dexterity that we only get snippets of.
Read and Bonney may not have had their own shanty, but Tit Swingers is a uproarious middle finger that we can only assume the pair would approve of.
