Wenches, maidens, and witches gather round… a new pick-me pythoness is in town.
Bebe Cave stars as Belinda Bigbum, a plain and pop culture savvy maiden with a penchant for, like, God. CHRISTBRIDE tells the tale of her search for a husband and her town of Littledick’s search for new and inventive ways to ridicule our [messy / complex / weird / not like the other girls] female protagonist.
CHRISTBRIDE is a wonderfully entertaining hour of comedy, drama, and godly visions: Cave is exceptional throughout, an incredibly gifted comedian with a particular talent for voices. However many accents you think occur within the duration of CHRISTBRIDE, multiply it by three and then add five. Then multiply it by ten. The show is also exceptionally self-aware, with many a reference to the tropes and cliches we’ve come to expect from historical female characters — especially ones having romantic visions of God.
For those who care for “historical accuracy”, CHRISTBRIDE also pays its respects to the less respectable behaviour of 1300-whenever-the-fuck (including Catherine of Siena’s delightful ring made of Jesus’ foreskin). For those who care more for “the meme-ability of it all”, there’s plenty of references to please the chronically online amongst us: Bob Katter’s televised breakdown, JLS (?!), and a wonderful recurrent bit about a certain Britain’s Got Talent dance troupe.
The standout component of CHRISTBRIDE (and it IS hard to choose) is perhaps the script — there are so, so many gems packed within this hour. You have to see the show for yourself to fully appreciate the density of the dialogue, but a particularly memorable line occurs as Belinda applies her pigs’ blood blusher. “The good thing about it is, it’s really buildable”, she tells us in beauty influencer speak, “you just have to kill more pigs.”
All in all, CHRISTBRIDE is a fun, frenetic, and incredibly clever hour of entertainment from a Grade-A performer. Belinda on Brittany Broski’s Royal Court when?
CHRISTBRIDE is running until 24 August at Jack Dome at Pleasance Dome.
Buy tickets here.
Image provided to The Student by BIGHEAD Comedy