It’s impossible not to be utterly drawn in and entranced by Betty Grumble and her anarchic brand of eco-sexual clowning. As the creation of performance artist Emma Maye Gibson, her grotesque and hyper-glamorised guise lands somewhere between critique and satire. Grumble is back at the Fringe with Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t, but it’s a show that doesn’t actually place Gibson’s avatar centre stage. Instead, she uses the time and space to delve into her own experiences of trauma and intimate partner violence, Grumble’s sewn together blond wigs, colourful make-up and sky-high heels appearing as motifs for survival and persistence against the odds.
As the audience files in, Gibson is dancing breezily on stage, surrounded by hanging banners that pay homage to some of the show, and indeed the artist’s, influences. There’s feminist icon Annie Sprinkle, Palestinian poet Candy Royalle, and, of course, an XL version of one of Grumble’s legendary ‘Pussy Prints’, the set feeling like a space for worship and healing.
Enemies of Grooviness is not an act of revenge, as Gibson affirms; it’s an act of reclamation – Gibson using her body as a focal point of resistance against patriarchal and gendered violence. She engages with her body and its numerous possibilities in a way that is masterful, the show’s big slip and slide finale bringing to the fore her brilliance as entertainer, artist and activist, all in one.
As she attempts to unpack her painful experiences within the legal system, there’s hard-hitting poetry, neon body paint, an outfit tutorial and rage-filled music, including a monstrous cover of The Pussycat Dolls. At the heart of the piece is what Gibson describes as a ‘grief cum’ – a literal physical climax and release, not intended to shock or disturb for the pure sake of it; but a statement of power, collective catharsis and radical joy.
Betty Grumble’s Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t, Assembly Roxy, until 24 Aug (not 6, 12, 19), 9.15pm