Feminism is often given a bad rap, despite gender inequality still being a very prevalent issue. Friendly Feminism For The Mild Mannered attempts to give feminism a musical make over using humour, whilst still leaving space to tackle the more serious and frightening aspects involved with being female or non-binary.

Friendly Feminism For The Mild Mannered is the brainchild of Millicent Sarre and features ten original songs woven through different aspects of the show’s topic, such as feminism stereotypes, consent, mansplaining, and many other topics in-between. Ably supporting Sarre is her all-female band, with backing singer Jemma Allen also providing moments of humour throughout.

Held in the fairly intimate space of the Bally theatre in Gluttony, this allows Sarre and her band the opportunity to have what feels more like a conversation with the audience, with her message cutting through more effectively than it would in a larger venue. The use of humour wrapped around stories of personal experience made them more palatable for the non-female members of the audience (of which there were quite a few), but didn’t dim the relatability for those who did identify as female. Importantly, it never felt like Sarre resorted to preaching to the uninformed to get her message regarding feminism across, with her own privilege acknowledged in song regarding intersectionality, and the general message of inclusiveness being the way to solve inequality.

While most of the show traded in humorous songs about feminism, it did reach an emotional climax regarding a personal experience tied in with the ‘Me Too’ movement. There was a natural progression to this point though and it didn’t feel out of place with the rest of the content. If anything, it drove home that feminism still holds an important place in modern society, and there is still a distance to go before true equality is reached.

Friendly Feminism For The Mild Mannered acts as a fantastic showcase for the immensely talented Millicent Sarre and her band, and presents the often polarising topic of feminism in a humorous manner, encouraging inclusivity and discussion rather than lecturing and finger-pointing. The show tackles issues which are important and challenging, wrapped inside a comforting, but incisive, blanket of humour, and is definitely worthwhile of your attendance this Fringe.

4 stars

Friendly Feminism For The Mild Mannered runs at The Bally at Gluttony until Sunday March 1. Buy tickets here.