CVNT ★★★★☆

Reclaiming the C-Word: CVNT Is Queer Clowning at Its Filthiest and Finest

CVNT – ★★★★

CVNT wastes absolutely no time letting you know exactly what kind of show you’ve walked into. This solo collision of comedy, clowning and physical theatre grabs its audience instantly and rarely loosens its grip.

Queer, sexual, ridiculous and surprisingly educational, CVNT dives headfirst into vulvas, vaginas, clits, masturbation, queefing and pleasure, turning them into the playground for an hour of fearless clowning. There’s improvisation, physical comedy and plenty of audience participation, all delivered with an infectious sense of freedom and a genuine message about letting go.

And yes, this is a show about the C-word.

There’s no polite “see you next Tuesday” substitution here. CVNT says cunt, celebrates cunt, interrogates cunt and asks why we’ve decided it deserves its position among the most offensive words in the English language. If you’re particularly delicate around the word, this probably isn’t going to be your Fringe pick. For everyone else, there’s something wonderfully liberating about watching the performer reclaim it and put it firmly back where they believe it belongs.

What makes the production work is that underneath all the rubbing, sex jokes and gloriously juvenile moments is some genuinely excellent clowning. The performer has strong physical instincts and knows how to manipulate an audience, particularly when improvisation enters the equation. The pace is relentless without becoming chaotic, and the audience is brought along rather than simply subjected to the madness.

It’s risqué in exactly the way a Fringe show should be: provocative, playful and completely uninterested in behaving itself. Yet there’s also something empowering underneath the comedy. CVNT takes something historically loaded with shame and insult and turns it into something celebratory, funny and powerful.

My one reservation is the running time. There’s probably ten minutes that could be shaved away. Tightening the final stretch would give the strongest material even more impact and could push an already excellent piece towards five-star territory.

Bold, filthy, empowering and very, very funny, CVNT is unapologetic queer clowning with something to say and absolutely no intention of whispering it.

★★★★