La Merda, Soho Theatre

Italian performance artist Silvia Gallerano bares all – literally – in this intense one-woman show of feminist polemic and wild, howling social satire.

When it premiered at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, La Merda wowed and shocked audiences with its confrontational take on what it means to be a woman today. Gallerano's character is young, self-proclaimedly 'ugly' and naked – both literally and emotionally – delivering a writhing stream-of-consciousness monologue on the subject of her recent rise to celebrity and the personal crisis it has brought about.

It’s a cri de coeur, fuelled with a degree of conviction that The Scotsman called 'wonderfully full on'. This broadsheet success was matched by a swathe of awards at the Edinburgh Festival, including the prestigious Fringe First Award and the Stage Award for Acting Excellence – among a host of top international prizes.

The play, written by Cristian Ceresoli, comes in the mould of pieces by rebellious Italian writer and director Pier Paolo Pasolini. Here, Ceresoli and Gallerano take apart social mores and the state of a consumerist society which dictates that female beauty is more prized than all else.

Raw and a little crazy, this is unmissable if you like your theatre bold and challenging.