Comedy                                                                    By Adrienne Truscott                                      The Stables                                                     February 10th

I understand that rape makes people uncomfortable. Fact is that I was walking into The Stables to the notes of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”, about to see a comedy with the words ‘rape’ and ‘pussy’ strung through the title. Walking in, I was very uncomfortable. And then Adrienne Truscott strutted onstage pantless.

As Asking For It: A One-Lady Rape About Comedy Starring Her Pussy and Little Else began, Truscott proceeded to fling three denim jackets and a multitude of hot pink bras from her body. Not that anyone had paid her attire much mind. After settling in with a swig of gin and tonic, Truscott proceeded to ask, “Anyone here been raped?” and then the kicker, “Anyone here a rapist?”

This opening unleashed a powerful comedy hour. The ‘rules’ to rhetoric about rape were unhinged. Truscott tackled the weighty topic vivaciously, as she played a happy-go-lucky character that masterfully joined her to the audience.

With absent pants Truscott took on the elephant in the room. She called out the careless use of rape as a punch line being laziness on other comic’s behalf, most notably the infamous Daniel Tosh. As the title suggests, her genitalia did indeed star. Especially when she used her “lady parts” as a screen for animated projections of comedians and a rapper who deliver rape material in their performances.

Truscott wittily explored several facets of rape culture – political, religious and biological. Prompting the crowd with simple rhetoric, Truscott highlighted just how absurd the concept of a rape whistle and ‘legitimate rape’ are. Her point was just as clear as the view to her pussy.

The combination of clever comedy and brash character enabled her to address a very serious subject. Truscott conveyed the most powerful way to talk about women’s bodies, by satirising the belief that comedy is sacred and women’s bodies aren’t.

As I left The Stables and walked into a still-steamy Perth night, I realised that I was still fairly uncomfortable. Just as Truscott said, that’s the “trouble about rape jokes”. She left me laughing hard, but thinking harder.

Asking For It: A One-Lady Rape About Comedy Starring Her Pussy and Little Else runs until Friday the 13th of February. You can find tickets via the Fringe World Guide here.