Simon Ward reviews The Catalogue of Sexual Anxieties at the White Bear Theatre

Written and performed by Aniqa Charania, Marion Poli and Charlotte Szabo, who together make up The Hysterical Ladies, with original music in a 1940s Andrews Sisters style by Patrice Peyrieras, this is a fun romp through an entertaining selection of sexual anxieties. They make charming and witty guides through the labyrinthine world of sex and its challenges.

It is, I suppose, a traditional musical revue with added twenty-first century candour. And beginning with a well-deserved moan about Plato’s diagnosis of hysteria, we are treated to the personal stories of each of the ladies and their relationships with sex, men and everything in between.

This seems to be a very personal show for the women involved, and they are not afraid to be vulnerable and share their worries. But they manage to get the balance right between being genuine and also funny and entertaining. It is very much the female perspective – the catalogue of male sexual anxieties would doubtless be a completely different show, and cast. In a way it is touching to see women open up about their issues in such a beguiling way. On the other hand it is rather depressing that there is still so much sexual anxiety around when we like to believe that we live in an open and accepting society. There is an interesting international take on things as the experiences of Aniqa, in Canada, and Marion, in France, differ considerably from Charlotte’s in England. We learn, for example, that the French have no word for ‘dating’ but do have a word for ‘the apartment where you keep your mistress’!

As the litany of problems proceeds there is a danger of things getting a bit gloomy and downbeat, happy tunes notwithstanding. It is a relief then, to finish at a point of acceptance, of letting go, and, perhaps, of shedding some of those anxieties.

The songs are catchy, though perhaps not particularly memorable – as a sort of 1940s pastiche they sound as if you have heard them before. There seems to be a framing idea that the show is being broadcast – there are audience noises and recorded instructions from a director/producer – but this is not really developed, and doesn’t seem to add anything. There’s no reason why this can’t just be a cabaret of songs on a theme. It is an enjoyable evening, if not quite as revelatory as it might have been.

The Catalogue of Sexual Anxieties runs at the White Bear Theatre, 138 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4DJ until Saturday 28th September