Everything I See I Swallow by Tamsin Shasha and Maisy Taylor – Summerhall, Edinburgh
Topless, strapped in Japanese bondage cords and hanging from a rope, Maisy Taylor makes quite an impression on the arriving audience. ‘Everything I See…’ is a acrobat show, performed and written by Shasha and Taylor. They play a mother and daughter, the latter dealing with disconnection from her body through experimental relationships and bondage. Her mother is angry and confused that a feminist education could lead to this.
The aerial work is exceptional, including daring moments where the pair cross and support one another on the same rope. The show explores how a generation gap can leave women in their 50s and 60s feeling they have never had the freedom to express themselves physically, while their daughters runs outrageous Instagram accounts. The ideas are interesting but not wholly successful. The two characters seem stereotyped, and it is hard to sympathise with Taylor’s character and her complaints about the burden of her own beauty.