Nicole Henriksen @ Underbelly, Cowgate
The spoken word performer and some-time stripper Nicole Henriksen essentially gives us a semi-naked TED Talk in Makin It Rain
Outlining her own story in the stripping business, Nicole Henriksen goes by the pseudonym Minnie and effectively takes us on a backstage tour that unveils a less ordinary view of sexual politics along the way.
It’s a revealing show in every sense, but it’s also a brainy one too. Henriksen is an intelligent observer of both the dancers and customers who work in the clubs and has interesting things to say about how the work affects them both. It’s cheeky and informative, a well-thought-through monologue that largely succeeds in placing Henriksen as a feminist at the edge of what the moral majority might find acceptable. The way she dismantles the social hierarchy of sex workers is a good example of her keen eye and ability to look at the situations she’s been in with a bit more objectivity that many people could.
She may falter a bit when trying to inject humour, but at least Henriksen has the self-awareness to admit the limits of her own understanding and face the confusions that come from trying to unpack the deeper meanings of all this undressing.
Nicole Henriksen is Makin it Rain, Underbelly Cowgate (Belly Dancer), 4-28 Aug (not 16), 5.50pm, £6-11