The City of Ladies | Camden People's Theatre

Hands up who’s heard of fourteenth century French writer Christine de Pizan? It doesn’t matter if the answer is ‘not me’ because Morgan Obermeyer and Polly Chedgzoy have created a show about her and her seminal work The City of Ladies, and they are here to teach you not just about Christine, but a whole host of important and underappreciated women from history.

The City of Ladies may feature a PowerPoint presentation as its backdrop, but it is much more Horrible Histories than history lecture, taking the audience on a whistle stop tour which crosses countries, centuries and even planes of existence, providing an irreverent and at times ahistorical look at the women it features.

The premise mirrors that of Pizan’s book, with the disillusioned writer visited by three muses (or sometimes one muse and some hand puppets) and tasked with building a City of Ladies. Along the way, the creators introduce a whole host of other historical figures who could inspire Christine and populate the city, among them some names who will be familiar to many such as the Brontë sisters and Sappho, and others who are likely to be new to the audience such as French revolutionary Theroigne de Mericourt.

Obermeyer and Chedgzoy are able and spirited performers and fully capture the attention of the audience, with frequent fourth wall breaks and instances of audience participation, including a poetry recital and a game show.

The show is at its strongest in its silliest moments, with a scene in which Obermeyer lip-syncs with puppets to Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights a particular highlight, and it is clear in these moments that the cast is having just as much fun as the audience.

However, some of the broader script could be improved, with the delivery not quite matching the ambitious concept. There is a lot packed into the 55-minute runtime, and some further clarifications would at times benefit audience understanding.

Funny and informative, The City of Ladies is a promising piece which could truly shine with some further revisions.

★★★☆☆ (3*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review