Femme Fatale

2019 Tour 21 Sep - 3 Oct | London 8 - 27 Oct

“Wiseman's writing sears and burns”
(The Guardian)

★★★★ (Breaking The Fourth Wall)
★★★★ (London Living Large)
★★★★ (Reviews Hub)
★★★★ (Upper Circle)

1968, New York. Andy Warhol’s muse and his would-be assassin collide in this unconventional & darkly comic drama about fame, failure and feminism. Original writing meets live music and film in a cabaret set up for an evening of uncompromising entertainment.

Nico, The Velvet Underground’s glamorous front woman, is waiting to shoot Any Warhol’s latest movie, when her room is invaded by Valerie Solanas, writer of the radical feminist SCUM Manifesto. Despite their contrasting personalities, they have one thing in common: they give precisely zero fucks.

Valerie wants the celebrity’s help to spread her message of female revolution - but Nico craves only drugs, to insulate her from her stalled career and traumatic past. A darkly comic battle begins. Can these two iron-willed opponents become allies and change their futures?

The time seems ripe for this reimagining of two female pop culture icons at the epicenter of 60s cool, battling for control of their own destinies. With women’s ownership of their stories and bodies still firmly on the news agenda, Femme Fatale draws parallels between 1960s feminism and today.

PRESS:

Upper Circle - full review →

★★★★
"Together these women have great chemistry as these characters, and the pace and comic timing elevate the existing intrigue in the story."

Breaking The Fourth Wall - full review →

★★★★
"Determined... Multilayered"

London Living Large - full review →

★★★★
“Wiseman's script explores the similarity and differences of the two women with sensitivity and a lot of dark humour. Wiseman was quite mesmerising as Nico and perfectly complemented Sophie Olivia's high energy, over-the-top Valerie. A powerful look at two struggling & broken people."

REVIEWERS HUB - full review →

★★★★
“Forceful and Fiery... Wiseman skilfully brings these disparate characters together in a forceful and fiery encounter and there is a tangible sense that such unconventional female visionaries would still have a tough time being truly heard today... Femme Fatale deals well with the issue of male exploitation and female realisation that their lives and words matter. There is an important message that feminism is about a lot more than women trying to reclaim their lives, rather it an ongoing concern that, like a bomb blast, can take time to be felt... If two women from comparatively recent history can fan the flames and get us all thinking then the universe really is waiting to be cracked open.”

EXEUNT – full review →

“Implicitly Feminist... Wiseman gives Nico some great, sharp lines – ‘you know if you lose your shit, you lose all of your power?’ – that make the see-sawing argument between the two women very watchable... Wiseman also plays Nico with a spot-on imitation of her languid, Teutonic drawl and its unmistakeable sibilant Ss and rounded Os.”

LGBTQ Arts Review - full review →

"Captivating... a real gift to the audience. If this isn't theatre doing the very best job it can, then I’m not sure what is."

A Younger Theatre - full review →

★★★★
“Really hits home... Femme Fatale has everything to get my theatrical juices flowing... The writing is witty & smart... Wiseman and Olivia are very capable, watchable performers... Since watching the play, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the Femme Fatale Spotify playlist.”

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