Q&A with Bebe Cave

There’s a line in the release about women being rewarded for being “still, silent and decorative.” Do you think those expectations still exist in modern culture, just in different forms?

Of course. Why is botox and ozempic such an increasing trend among young women who don’t need it? Because the pressure is as strong as it's ever been to become a living doll (frozen, portable, now even customisable!). Despite our best efforts as a species, and enough waves of feminism to make us seasick, women are still massively rewarded for being small and attractive and easily slotted into male existence. Whether you’re a career woman or a trad wife, this force is an inescapable part of female existence, and in my comedy writing I try to dissect some aspects of this. Sounds so fun doesn’t it!!! Wish me luck. I do think there is some levity there, and I’m certainly no saint. I wear makeup and flattering sun-dresses, I start and fail diets all the time, I cry when I feel ugly and glow when I feel desired!! No amount of feminist literature I consume can deprogramme these settings within. And I don’t feel guilty about it. Beauty standards are bad, but sometimes they can be fun too… and sometimes we even desire our own objectification. I think this is very interesting, and deeply human. Hopefully my show will leave audiences feeling amused and lighthearted about these things. I suppose humans have been drawn to beautiful things forever, so we can’t be too hard on ourselves. I think that social media is the modern version of the Victorian muse culture I explore in swoon. The instagram discover page is our RA gallery exhibition.

"We were never meant to see this many pictures of beautiful people" but if you applied that to pre-raphaelite paintings of beautiful girls with long red hair and a propensity for drowning.

CHRISTBRIDE went from Fringe success to a sold-out Soho Theatre run and UK tour. Has your relationship with performing changed over the last year?

I have become a much more confident performer and more willing to trust my instincts! Which translates to doing even more borderline offensive regional UK accents and wearing even more hats. I don’t mean hats like skills, strings to my bow etc. I mean I literally wear different hats in the show to play different characters. In this current draft I wear at least five. I have also learnt to warm up before performing so I don’t pull the muscles in my neck.

Christbride taught me many things about myself, mostly that I seem to have a neck-heavy performance style.

What excites you most about bringing SWOON to Edinburgh audiences this summer? 

Apart from my poorly researched takes on the art world I would say I’m most excited about my set design! This show will feel moreadult I think, hopefully it will seem elevated and refined visually - in fact I have worked with a professional set designer (Ellie Wintour) and puppet maker (Beez Barry), and have stopped forcing my mum to make all of my props!

Apart from a couple of small ones. The performance itself will be just as home-made as it was before unfortunately, as I haven’t taken the time to train in any new skills.

A lot of your work seems interested in women performing versions of femininity. Is performance itself something you think about constantly?

Yes I probably do spend a lot of time thinking about performative femininity, perhaps that comes from being an actress at an early age and spending most of my spare time in childhood dancing around with a feather boa and sticking sequins to myself (figuratively. And literally). In a way, I think femininity and being an actress are the same thing. It's about presenting an appealing, charming, seductive and graceful version of human nature. Including but not limited to: fawning, people pleasing, eyelash fluttering, nurturing, tactical sobbing, posing. It’s different to being a woman, it's a layer you can glaze on top for your desired purposes. Femininity is a heightened state of mind, and something that can be very fun to play with, but like any psychoactive substance, dangerous in large quantities and without adult supervision. No wonder so many grown up child actresses end up with face tattoos.

What’s the funniest thing you discovered while researching Victorian womanhood?

How much time was spent ‘taking the waters’ for any ailment, headache, upset, or inconvenience. Women would flock to spa towns, wetter climates and large bodies of water at the drop of a tophat. I really like this idea and think we should bring it back. Maybe it was a parlty just good excuse to get out of the tight-laced corsets and let your stomach out a bit. I feel very spiritually connected to water myself, I think there is and has always been a link between women and water, we are tidal creatures ruled by the moon. I have all of my best ideas in the ocean. Unfortunately I do not live in the ocean, so I have to mostly make do with the ideas I have on land.

Bebe Cave: Swoon performs at Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 5th -  30th August. For more information visit: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/bebe-cave-swoon