Bye Bye Baby, theSpace on North Bridge, Review (2022)

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Rating (out of 5)
5
Show info
Company
Aireborne Theatre
Production
Fabien O'Farreell (writer/director), Polly Day (assistant director), Luke Holland (producer), Molly Thirlwall (producer)
Performers
Eden Vaughen (Ellie), Alice Walker (Lucie), Phoebe Graham (Ali), Luke Holland (Tom)
Running time
45mins

If Drifters combined with Fleabag and added just a hint of Bridesmaids, you'd get Bye Bye Baby.

Passing the infamous Bechdel Test within the opening scene, Lucie, Ellie, and Ali are three uni students who are ending what appeared to be an epic night out at the only sensible place, a chippy. The omnipresent face of Phoebe Waller-Bridge is taped to a holographic pink balloon looking down on the girls as if she were God as the girls mull over the concept of motherhood from three very different perspectives. 

Lucie can't spell "diarrhoea" - even with the help of autocorrect, so how could she possibly care for a child? Ali thinks babies are like farts - you only like your own - plus, she already knows men can never be trusted, but that doesn't stop her from sleeping with many of the worst ones. Ellie thinks she might want them someday… along with the husband, the house, and the rest of it, but does that make her a bad feminist?

The only male character, Tom, serves as the archetype of a male feminist who is such a "nice guy" that he barges in on the girls' private conversation to offer his unsolicited opinion and then insults them when they disagree. Ugh.

A show written by a woman about women, it's no surprise that the audience was mainly female; I couldn't help but wonder if the men in the audience learned a thing or two.

Watching Bye Bye Baby was like being transported to my uni days, getting pizza at 3 am with my friends and contemplating the greatest problems of our lives. 

A show that truly deserved to be performed in front of a packed audience if there ever was one. 

 

Tickets here
Aug 5-13 | 17:40
Suitability: 18+ (Guideline)