Sex Idiot
Briony Kimmings
Mayfest 2011
Sex Idiot by Briony Kimmings is a bawdy sex cabaret packed with cheeky tales of the artists conquests, concerns and regrets. Borrowing heavily from a live art aesthetic, the show is put together from with vignettes of original song, dance and performance action devised from Kimmings’ experience of catching an STD.
The show gambols along pleasantly, providing occasional laugh out loud moments. Kimmings is likeable but a little brash; it is hard not to be put in mind of musical irritation Kate Nash when watching, not merely because Kimmings and Nash share similar haircuts and accents. Kimmings songs and performance poetry are similar in style and tone to many tracks from Nash’s second album My Best Friend Is You (2009) on which the singer frequently bursts into foul-mouthed poetry rant.
Sex Idiot is successful as a late night comedy, full of smutty posturing and smart one-liners. Hundreds of imaginative words for the female organs are peppered throughout, many performed in a short song which is perhaps the high point of the show. The performance is great fun although never particularly deep or risky; it is as if Kimmings’ wants to keep her audience on side. This makes it hard to see any vulnerability in the artist; it is as if she is afraid to really show us what she thinks and feels about catching Chlamydia.
Sex Idiot is an entertaining comedy revue and Kimmings an enigmatic performer, who carries the show with aplomb. It is disappointing that even in light of the work of artists like Annie Sprinkle and Penny Arcade it still seems that hearing women talking candidly about their sex lives feels taboo. Kimmings builds upon the work of her forebears in continuing the normalisation of both having sex and talking openly about gender and genitals and for this reason I applaud her openness… and her filthy mouth.
Michael Jones
20th May 2011
