✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Theatre

Ad Libido, Soho Theatre review ★★★★★

07 May 19 – 11 May 19, 7:15 PM – 9:00 PM

Dungareed soothsayer Fran Bushe comically dissects Female Sexual Dysfunction in her bare-all one-woman show

By Natasha Sutton Williams on 9/5/2019

Ad Libido, Soho Theatre review
Ad Libido, Soho Theatre review
Ad Libido, Soho Theatre review 4 Ad Libido, Soho Theatre review Lucy Brooks
Performer Fran Bushe is a writer, performer and comedian. Her debut solo show Ad Libido utilises songs, gags and diary entries from her teenage years to delve deep into Bushe's personal experience of Female Sexual Dysfunction and its effect on her personal and public life.


Although Ad Libido is certainly comical and leans towards the increasingly popular genre of ‘stand up comedy with songs’, Bushe uses humour to dissect taboo subjects like sexual response, female desire, sexual stimulation, and pain during sex, a condition that Bushe tells us affects at least 43% of women.


The piece is heartfelt, heart warming and at times heart wrenching. Bushe recounts stories of male friends stridently claiming they can fix her with their ‘magic penis’; how medical professionals have conversely told her to ‘have more sex’, ‘stop having sex’ and even ‘pop some Savlon on the problem area’; how in dark post-coital hours she has seriously contemplated dubious gadgets like vibrational implants at the bottom of her spinal cord to improve sexual satisfaction. The anecdotes are shocking, and at times horrendous, but Bushe is only stating what is on offer to women who have genuine sexual problems. The creeping sense of systemic misogyny and female oppression scorches through the show, but is always performed with a light touch.


Bushe is a charming performer, but her real talent shines through her song lyrics, which are pumped full of witty rhyming schemes and unexpected rhythms. The songs are spliced through the show in a slightly muddled fashion, which is intentional, as the piece is not trying to be slick, but messy like reality. However, a more considered narrative structure and tactical use of songs would lift this already impressive show to the next level.


At its best, Ad Libido is funny, truthful and indisputably moving. There is no doubt that Bushe bares her - fully clothed - body and soul. She fearlessly uses her sexual journey as a test case to illustrate to those who have experienced similar sexual frustration, humiliation and anxiety that they are not alone; that we as a society should welcome more honest conversations about sexual difficulties and dysfunctions. As with many great pieces of theatre, you come out galvanised and inspired to take on the world. In this case one orgasm at a time.


What Ad Libido, Soho Theatre review
Where Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 3NE | MAP
Nearest tube Oxford Circus (underground)
When 07 May 19 – 11 May 19, 7:15 PM – 9:00 PM
Price £10+
Website Click here for more information and tickets



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 24–26 March. Photo: The Parakeet, Kentish Town
Things to do in London this weekend: 24–26 March
Irene Maiorino and Alba Rohrwacher in My Brilliant Friend season 4, HBO/Sky Atlantic (Photo: HBO)
My Brilliant Friend, season 4, Sky Atlantic: first-look photo, release date, plot, cast
Best art exhibitions in London. Photo: Thin Air at the Beams
Top exhibitions on now in London
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

We recommend nearby

  • Lina Stores Restaurant

    A delightfully affordable addition to the Soho dining scene, Lina Stores restaurant is so ravishingly beautiful in its eau de Nil 50s retro design that you'll want to take everything home with you. We recommend sitting at the counter for the full mid-century Italian cafe experience.

    Read more...
    Book Map
  • Basement Sate

    This Soho bar offers the relaxed feel of a private members’ club. On Mondays the mixing gurus will be able to teach you the intricate art of cocktail making -- or you can simply indulge in their carefully curated dessert and cocktail pairing menu.

    Read more...
    Book Map
  • Xu

    Xu has it all. It looks good enough to eat, the menu is thrilling and they're to be applauded for bringing proper Taiwanese dining to London. The service is beautifully judged and well informed. The only challenge may be getting a reservation, as almost all the critics love it.

    Read more...
    Book Map

You might like

  • Emilia, Vaudeville Theatre

    Emilia, Vaudeville Theatre review ★★★★★

  • Still from film of Mary Poppins: West End show returns to Prince Edward Theatre

    Mary Poppins, Prince Edward Theatre London

  • James McArdle in Peter Gynt, National Theatre

    Peter Gynt, National Theatre review ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×