Holly Spillar makes her Fringe debut with the wondrous Hole, an unconventionally hilarious deep dive into vaginismus, a psychosomatic condition that prevents some, or all, types of vaginal penetration. Opening with the same unabashed humour that runs throughout the one-woman, hour-long set, Spillar sets off the show with a confident smile and the line, “Hi, I’m Hole, and I’m impenetrable”.
Taking on the character of Hole, Spillar explores the autobiographical trajectory of her own experiences of vaginismus, drawing from lived-experience a dark humour that is enticingly fresh and intimate. At the forefront of this experience is the desire for Hole to feel Wa-Huh-ole (a beautifully over emphasised expression of whole), despite her issues. Wordplay aside, the performance takes on a complex journey of learning to disregard oppressively misogynistic notions of sexual wholeness and normality, in favour of self acceptance and sexual empowerment. This is explored with a refreshingly candid gaze that reveals Spillars fierce confidence in handling a potentially tender topic.
Armed with just a red loop pedal – a wonderful and frankly underused piece of kit – Spillar merges a confessional story-telling pace with a series of intimidatingly funny and well sung mix of songs. From recounting early sexual encounters with the type of posh white boy you meet at freshers – think Marx posters and Joe Rogan podcasts – to ridiculing the infuriatingly inadequate advice of early doctors, who told her to try drinking wine to relax before sex, nothing is off-limits in Spillars sing-song comedy side. At one point, she managed to have the crowd singing back to her a-la-call and response about NHS prescribed dildos (vaginal dilators), which for 2.30 on a Tuesday afternoon in the final week of Fringe was an impressive energy to activate.
Spillar’s vocal talent should not be understated: a variety of ethereal harmonies which switch effortlessly to shrill shrieks, grungy imitations of past boyfriends, and even a bit of ASMR. The feedback loop, a foot-operated pedal which loops and distorts tunes, is central to the show and used at perfectly paced moments throughout. Layering her voice, she quite literally amplifies her experiences, leading to a beautifully harmonised culmination of her story.
Holly Spillar is a magnetic performer and, if this impressive debut is anything to go by, she’s one to watch.
Holly Spillar: Hole was on at Underbelly, Bristo Square – Buttercup.
Image provided to The Student as press material.
