TESTO @ ZOO Southside

In TESTO, Wet Mess turns themselves inside out. It's as wet as it is messy, ambitious as it is honest. The piece is part of the Here & Now programme of work created in England, and it represents the showcase's experimental bent so enticingly. TESTO is Wet Mess's first full length solo show, and one couldn't hope for a more breathtaking debut.

Through drag, audio and movement, Wet Mess wrests the trans body from its sensationalised image. They paint a picture of a UK that at every turn estranges the trans body from the mundanities of human life. In a political landscape that makes us hyper visible, Wet Mess imagines the feeling of running into your own arms, taking a nap in your own innards. 

The stage is swathed in fleshy curtains. The light plays beautifully on the fabrics and on Wet Mess, who moves with mesmerising ease and confidence. Every element of this show's design is a piece of art in itself. With BSL interpretation by Elliot Webster-Mockett, TESTO shines most brightly when these elements surge together. Using verbatim audio recordings, Wet Mess distils an image of transition in the UK. Their movement is powerful, captivating and a bit gross, converging in a piece of work that is equal parts entertainment and gut punch. It's an all-encompassing experience for the eyes, ears and heart. TESTO is a visceralization of the parts of us that aren't blood and bone. 

TESTO is genderpunk at its finest – it embodies so perfectly the feeling of seizing your autonomy. Wet Mess peels back their own layers to build a devastating feeling of intimacy, and reflects the familiar feeling of wanting to tear one's skin off, or oneself apart. It's body horror for cis people and body freedom for trans people. Watching it feels like taking my first deep breath in a very long time.

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TESTO, ZOO Southside, until 25 Aug (not 19 Aug), 8.30pm, £15-16